13 Warriors
by Joseph McKinley
Summary: Thirteen new students are waiting at Xavier's for the X-Men to return home from Christmas break. Who are these new students and what connection do they have with Scott and Rogue? Read and find out, Please R&R! Flames welcome!
1. Warriors and XMen

**Author's Note: Okay, here's the attempt at the sequel. Thirteen new students arrive at the Xavier Institute just before the end of the Christmas break. How will the Xavier students and faculty react to these new teens once they return from their Christmas Vacation? Read and find out. If you're wondering about the beginnings and about the specifics of these people's powers, please read the prequel to this, my first story, "Our Kind of People." For now however, here is the first featurette of this story. I'll begin each chapter with a miniature biography on one of the Warriors. Today's is.... Michael Young.**

**Name: Michael Young**

**Codename: Psychic**

**Age: 14 soon to be 15**

**Gender: Male**

**Height: 5'**

**Build: Skinny and scrawny quite small in build and somewhat adorable to older girls.**

**Eye-Color: Green**

**Hair-Color: Brown, usually kept short and fuzzy.**

**Personality: Personality: He is a romantic and a reader, not just at heart, but also in his daily life, openly. He writes poetry, and creative writing pieces when he feels like it, though he mostly writes poetry. He has a bookcase, with two shelves filled with notebooks one shelf contains his poems, the other shelf his creative writing. He reads with a passion, he loves to do it, so he does it. His favorite author is Edgar Allen Poe, with T.S. Elliot in a close second, and Emily Dickinson in third. And of course, he is appreciative of older authors as well, such as Shakespeare, among other Elizabethan authors, his favorite play being Shakespeare's 'Macbeth'. He does not participate in much physical activity, or exercise, he prefers more to exercise the mind then the body, and loves strategy and logic games, such as chess, checkers, mastermind, and even some tabletop strategy games. He tends to keep to himself when he can, not because he prefers to be alone, in fact he prefers to be with a small group of close friends, but because of his powers he tends to enjoy quiet as he reads, which means he tends to try to be at least ten feet away from someone when he does so. He does not like big crowds, and as mentioned earlier he's the kind to have a few very close friends, as opposed to having many friends that he barely knows.**

**Power: He can hear what is on the surface of other people's minds. Or in essence, what they are thinking in that exact moment as they think it. He has no control over this and hears their thoughts as they think them, not being able to block the voices out. In populated crowds it can become overwhelming and result in extreme headaches, and the activation other abilities (continue reading for more information). His powers have a range of about ten feet, so if anyone is within ten feet of him he automatically hears their thoughts. His mind is also fairly sensitive, able to differentiate the brain wave patterns between a mutant and a human. It's the equivalent to someone speaking with an accent, he can just tell whether the thoughts he's listening to belong to a human or a mutant, though it can be very confusing when he has more then one person in his mind at a time, especially if some are mutant, and some are human. The draw back to his abilities is that when overloaded with too many people inside his head, for too long a time, anywhere from fifteen minutes to half an hour, at the most, he can cause a temporary mental shut down in others. Or in other words, knock them out, with his mind. It happens as a sort of shockwave effect, causing anyone within ten feet of him to become unconscious. It only happens when he is overloaded, or during times of extreme emotional upset. Usually the effects of the shockwave only last between five to ten minutes, but it varies.**

**Chapter 1: Warriors and X-Men**

"Dude, this place is huge." Will said, as he was the first one out of the passenger van that held eight other teenagers his age. They had all been in there from the airport. Except for Michael and Rebecca, they had driven all the way here on Rebecca's Motorcycle. And they weren't here yet. They probably wouldn't get here until later that night. And of course James and Jessica King, who had come back from New York City with Scott and Rogue.

"Welcome all of you, to Xavier's Institute for gifted children." Charles Xavier said as he wheeled up to them, a blanket covering him in his wheelchair on this cold winter morning. Scott and Rogue walked behind him, Scott with a smile on his face, and Beast was the only other one at the Institute at the moment, but he was in the library, too busy reading at the moment to greet the others.

John, Will's identical brother, both of which had dyed blue hair, stepped out of the Van next with a slight smile on his face. "Thanks for having us." He said as he came out, Elise and the others behind him. The only real way to tell Will and John apart was how they dressed and sometimes acted. John was very proper and usually wore a fancy outfit with expensive and tasteful shoes. However Will was anything but proper and usually wore ripped up Jeans and some sort of T-shirt, mostly ones with obnoxious yet humorous sayings written on them.

Xavier smiled and nodded slightly. "Please come inside all of you, we'll show you your rooms first so that you can leave your things there and enjoy seeing the rest of the institute. Scott."

"Yes Professor." Scott said turning to look over at the man.

"Show Chris, Nathan, Joe, Will, and John their rooms, and then start them on their tour of the upper levels." Xavier instructed. "Rogue, you do the same with Elise, Danielle, Grace, and Megan." Xavier said as Rogue nodded. "And James and Jessica, you may go with or do whatever you want while I speak with Mr. Walkner."

James and Jessica nodded slightly and returned inside as Rogue and Scott along with their selected groups followed behind. Jessica was glad to be reunited with her friends again, as was James. But Rogue was a little nervous; this place would seem crowded now.

"You want to go inside?" A man dressed in a rather matrix looking outfit asked as he came around the van putting on a pair of heavily tinted shades. The sun was hidden behind a few clouds at the moment, so it seemed odd at first that this man would wear shades now, but then Charles remembered what Scott had told him. This man's mutation affected his eyes so that his pupils were extremely large, gathering in a lot of light. It allowed him to see in the darkness quite well, but too much light could be extremely painful for him.

"We should go inside Mr. Walkner." Xavier said, as his wheelchair started moving towards the front of the Mansion. "Can I offer you something to drink?"

"I could go for a cup of some hot cocoa if you have any." Mr. Walkner said as they entered into the large front hall. "And please, I told you last time, call me Thomas, or Tom, most adults call me Tom."

"Very well Tom. Hot cocoa it is." He said as they started off towards the kitchen. "As you can see the Institute itself is quite large and there are plenty of rooms for your younger members here. However I hope that you don't mind that I took the liberty of splitting some of them up. Rooming them with various X-Men and such. That way it helps to break the barrier between the two groups."

"I don't mind at all. I would do the same thing personally. But you'll find that some of them, specifically Nathan and Michael, don't spend much time with anyone at all. Well, except for each other mostly. Even Joe can be anti-social every now and then." Thomas explained.

"That is understood, what with Nathan and Michael's mutations I can't say that I didn't expect for them to be anti-social. However it is Joseph's mutation that intrigues me. As you know his power is quite similar to that of a mutant already staying here. Rogue."

"Yes, she'd said as much at that party when we first met her." Thomas said as they reached the kitchen and Charles started making the hot cocoa.

"Yes. Well I know that you agreed to have me train them with the equipment here, the same training I give the X-Men, but I would like to first now the limits, boundaries, extents, and origins of their powers first, as you've said once before not all of them are mutant."

"True. And I thought you might be interested. So I brought this." Thomas said as he reached into his coat and pulled out a two-inch computer disk. "This contains complete bios on all of the students here, even James and Rebecca. But I didn't include any of their backgrounds. Their origins are there, I even have their exact heights, weights, eye-colors, everything, but I left their histories for you to discover, or for them to tell you. Some of them weren't brought up in nice places, and some were. James and Jessica have had a rough time of it, but Will and John have pretty much just been normal their entire lives. You'll have to ask them if you want more information on it."

"I understand. I would not want you telling me something that they themselves would want kept hidden." Xavier said, as the cocoa was just about finishing up.

"Nor would I." Thomas agreed as he took a seat at the kitchen table. He put the disk on the table in front of him.

**MEANWHILE**

"Dude. This room is huge." Came Will's voice as he looked around the large room that Scott had showed him to. "Who am I rooming with?"

"You'll be staying with Kurt Wagner, also known as Nightcrawler. I have a feeling you two will get along fine. That bed over there is yours. You can leave your suitcases on it, you'll have plenty of time to unpack later." Scott answered.

"Sweet." Will said as he walked in and looked around the room. "My kinda ceiling. Nice and high up. Plenty of crawl space."

John rolled his eyes as the other guys waited for Will by the door. "Come on man. We want to see the rest of this place before the day ends."

Will laughed as he threw his suitcase on the bed and plucked off his shoes and socks, setting them by his bed too. He liked to go barefoot whenever he could, and since he'd just be inside anyway, he figured he might as well.

The tour continued as Scott led the guys down the hall. Will fell to the back of the crowd a bit. "So Nathan, who you rooming with man?"

"I have my own room." Nathan answered with a straight face.

"Aw man, that's no fair, how come you get your own room?"

Nathan just turned and stared at him as they continued walking. Will smiled sheepishly as he realized the reason. "Oh... Right... Sorry. I forgot there for a second."

Nathan didn't answer; he just walked ahead, playing a bit of catch up with the rest of the group.

"What about you bro? Who you rooming with in this great mansion of Xavier's?" Will asked as he put his hand on his identical twin's shoulder.

"Apparently I'm rooming with Scott over there. Which is fine by me, we seem to get along well." John answered.

"What about you Chris?" Will asked as he looked over to the shoulder-length blond haired boy walking next to them. "Who are you staying with?"

"Joe and I are sharing a room for now, Scott said that the Professor said it was temporary cause he wanted to split us all up, but he's having trouble placing us with roommates that we'll get along with because he knows so little about us. Or something like that." Chris answered.

"Cool." Will nodded as the group made their way back down to the main hall.

**MEANWHILE**

"So are the guys here cute?" Grace asked as the girls made their way from room to room on the girls' floor of the dormitory wing.

Rogue was getting tired of these preppy girlie questions that these girls seemed to be asking, but honestly that had been the first one that she had gotten from Grace, all the rest had mostly been from Elise.

"Ah think that's a question you'll have to answer for yourself once you meet them all." She said in her slight southern accent. "But Kitty thinks that there a few worth looking at either here or at school. Ah kinda tune her out when she starts babbling on about different guys to be honest."

"Kitty's your roommate?" Megan asked speaking for the first time to Rogue since their little tour began.

"Yeah." Rogue nodded.

"So what's my roommate like? This... Jean Grey." Megan asked as Elise put her things in the room that Rogue had showed her.

"Uh... Well Ah think you'll have to find out for yourself, I'm not that good at personality descriptions." Rogue answered shrugging. "Sorry Ah'm not much help."

"I see." Megan said with a slight nod.

**MEANWHILE**

"So when do these regular students of yours get back?" Thomas asked as he sipped the cup of hot cocoa that Charles had just given him.

"Tomorrow morning actually. I think the two groups will get a long quite well. I won't be showing the Warriors the lower levels until the others get back. Maybe I'll have Logan run them both through a training session. Maybe even have a little healthy competition between the Warriors and the X-Men."

"Well just to warn you, there are a few that'll take that whole competition thing as far as you'll let 'em." Thomas warned with a smile. "For example John might be all adult about it, but I know for sure that Will won't be able to do anything but think about it and prepare for it."

"Well I have noticed that all the members of your groups seem extremely physically fit. James for example has the body of a professional body builder. No doubt somewhat larger than most body builders with his height and everything factored into it." Xavier said as he sipped his own cup of hot cocoa.

"Well that's mostly because he is." Thomas answered. "For the last two years he's really done nothing but work out, he's even been in a few smaller competitions. You see Rebecca, James, and Quinn are the ones in charge of training and excercising programs. James gives the guys a real work out, at least those that want it. As you see Nathan and Michael don't exactly exercise much at all. You might have a harder time getting them to train than you think."

"Well I can understand Nathan's resistance to it, he has a few boundaries to over come psychologically. At least according to what Scott and Rogue tell me."

"A few?" Thomas scoffed. "I don't know what's with that kid, cause he's never told me, but he is messed up in the head. If you ever find a more cynical and more self-torturing, depressed, and depressing person let me know, because it should be in the book of world records if it can beat Nathan."

"Is he really that bad?" Xavier asked with a brow slightly raised.

"Well from what I gather, I guess I should let you know this... He blames his father for his mutation. You see his father was a mutant, and after he found out that Nathan's mother was pregnant he split. I don't know what happened to the dad, because Nathan doesn't even know, but his mother knew that his father was a mutant, or at least that he had a special power, some sort of plasticity or something. Anyway Nathan blames his father for giving him this 'curse' as he sees it, and blames him for whatever deaths Nathan might've caused during his lifetime."

"Has he ever actually killed anyone?" Xavier asked now concerned.

"Not on purpose you understand." Thomas tried to explain. "The best I know it is some girl who was really close to him for years didn't realize, or did realize and did it anyway in an exited moment because she forgot and kissed him on the lips. The girl he loved decayed in front of his very eyes, and I think it was then that something just sort of snapped. It's a sad story really."

"Indeed." Xavier said solemnly.

**MEANWHILE**

"And this is the library." Scott said opening the large wooden doors, revealing the bookshelf-lined walls of the room that held a chair and fireplace at the one end of it. Including chairs scattered throughout the room itself along with a few tables here and there.

"Dang. I know that Mike will love this place." Chris said with a slight smile and nod.

"Ah, I see that the new students have arrived." Came a voice from the chair in front of the fireplace. A tall dark-blue fuzzy man stood to face them and was honestly surprised when there were no gasps or momentary hesitations on the guest's part when he offered his oversized hand to Chris for a shake. "My name is Dr. Henry McCoy. But people here call me Hank. Or Beast."

"Dr. McCoy. I'm Christian Hart. Or Dragon as the codename thingie." Chris said as he shook the man's hand. "This here is Joseph McKinley, AKA Clone. And Will and John Howlett, also known as Warp and Force. And this is Nathan Albarran."

Beast shook the hand of each as they were introduced by Chris, even the gloved one that Joe offered, the only one he didn't shake was Nathan's, who did not offer his hand, but nodded instead.

"It's nice to meet you all. I can't wait to learn more about you, but for now, if you'll excuse me, I have some research to get back to." He said with a polite nod as he left the library.

**MEANWHILE**

"Well, I can tell they're going to be fine here. I better get going." Thomas said as he finished his cup of cocoa and stood up. "Tell everyone that I wish 'em the best. And tell James I said to keep in touch. Oh and Professor Xavier..." Thomas said reaching inside his coat. "You call this number if you need me. James and Rebecca know it as well. It's my personal cell." He said with a nod as Xavier took the piece of folded paper.

"Very well." Xavier said with a slight nod. "I'll see you to the door."

**MEANWHILE**

"Hey Rogue, is that a pool?" Elise asked looking out the back window in the stairwell that they were currently descending.

"Yeah, but it's not open right now with it being winter and all." Rogue answered with a nod.

"I see. Well that's cool, it'll give me something to do once the weather gets warmer."

"Yeah right. You don't even know how to swim." Danielle said with a smile.

"I don't need to know how to swim, I'll just use it to get a tan."

"Who are you rooming with anyway?" Elise asked looking over to Danielle. "You never said."

"Oh, I'm staying with some girl named Rayne. From a quick glance at her stuff she seems pretty cool, a decent taste in music anyway." Danielle answered.

"Cool." Elise said with a nod as the girls made their way to the bottom of the stairs just in time to see Thomas driving off and Professor Xavier coming back in from outside.

"Ah. Rogue, how was the tour?" He asked as he came in the doors.

"Good Professor, I'm just now showin' 'em the downstairs of the mansion."

"Very good." He said with a nod. _'Leave the basements for later if you will." _He said telepathically. _'I want the others to be here, as well the rest of the faculty."_

Rogue nodded as she headed towards one of the hallways. "Come on." She said as she turned. "I'll show ya'll the dining room and kitchen."

**Author's Note: I hope you guys liked this first chapter. Hopefully it's a lot better than the first chapter of the prequel. Anyway, if you read this story, please remember, it's polite to review. Even if you don't like my writing, a critique, or even a flame, is welcomed as well. I hope you keep reading. I'll try to get the second chapter up as soon as I can.**

**Coming soon - Chapter 2: Meet the roommates **


	2. Meet the Roommates

**Author's Note: Okay, first things first, I've decided to cut out the mini-bio. I'll be posting miniature bios of all of the warriors on my profile page, you can go and take a look there if you want to know more about them, but they'll probably be shorter than the bio in the first chapter.**

**Disclaimer: Because I forgot to do this in the first chapter I'll do it now. I don't own the X-Men. However the Warriors are completely original characters of mine, and I do claim ownership over them, so don't go using them without my permission! Ha! But in all honesty, if you ask, I'll probably say yes. **

**And now to answer some of your questions:**

**Mark C:** Yes, the warriors will be attending high school with the X-Men. Or at least most of them will be. And yes, you can bet your life that I'll be bringing in the Brotherhood and Magneto, although probably not right away.

**MJ: **For Rogue's future relationships with members of the Warriors I can't give anything away. But if her and Nathan are to get together it's going to take a lot of emotional work on Nathan's part, because he had a lot of baggage. And I do mean a lot. He's sworn off emotion, and has basically sworn to never love again. Plus, say if Rogue were to touch someone she liked, she'd absorb his memories and abilities. But for Nathan it's a little more permanent, the person he touches, dies. Oh, and I apologize for going off of Rogue's character a bit, but it was necessary to bring the characters in and actually have the story, I tried not to do it too much, and I think you'll find that with this next chapter, everyone being back, and the 'Christmas high' being over, she's back to her goth-like, anti-social self.

**And special thanks to Tsugath, mattb3671, and Ranndie Mazda.**

**Chapter 2: Meet the Roommates**

"Professor?" Came Scott's voice as the door to Xavier's office opened somewhat slowly.

"Yes Scott, what can I do for you?" Charles Xavier asked as he looked up from behind his desk.

"You said you wanted me to tell you when Michael got here, well... he and Rebecca just arrived." Scott answered.

"Thank you Scott. I'll be right out." The professor said with a nod.

It wasn't until a few minutes later that the professor emerged from his office and came to the front entrance hall to greet Michael. "Welcome." He said with a smile as his wheelchair moved closer. "To Xavier's Institute for gifted children."

"It's nice to meet you sir. Scott and Rogue tell me that we have... similar abilities." Mike said with a faint smile to the old man.

"Yes, and I had wanted to talk to you about that. You see a few years ago I found someone just like you, a telepath, but they were unable to control their powers just like you are, if it's okay with you, I'd like them to spend some time with you, teaching you how to control your telepathy." Xavier said politely and seriously.

"Seriously? Okay. I'll try it. I've tried controlling it before... but nothing's ever really worked for me." Mike said somewhat withdrawn about the idea.

"Well we shall see, your 'tutor' won't get back until tomorrow. You can meet with her then, and see what you can do." Xavier answered. "As for now, Scott will show you to your room, and show you around a bit."

"Okay." Mike said nodding, his stuff had already been taken in and too his room, it had arrived with all the others. He noticed that the only one's in the entrance hall were Rogue, Scott, the Professor and Rebecca. Rebecca was one of the warriors, the one that had driven him here, she was slightly older than the rest of them, nineteen, the same age as James.

"Um... I don't mean to interrupt or be rude or anything, but do any of you know where James is?" Rebecca asked curiously.

"Ah think Ah saw him having a snowball fight with a few of the other guys out back, I can take ya there after Ah show you your room if ya want." Rogue answered.

"Yeah. Sure." Rebecca said.

Both Mike and Rebecca went to their rooms, Mike following Scott, and Rebecca following Rogue. Mike was surprised at how nice the place was for the most part he ignored the invading thoughts of others, and just looked around. The only voice he could really hear in his head was Scott's, and Scott was just wondering when this girl 'Jean Grey' would be getting back tomorrow.

"And this is your room." Scott said as he stopped in the hall and pointed to one of the doors. He opened it up and flicked on the lights to reveal a single bedroom and a nice one at that. It had a small balcony off of it, almost like a porch, and there was a nice bookcase at the one end of it, which was empty.

Mike walked in and took his look around, his suitcases were on his bed, and he filed through them and opened one up. Scott was actually amazed when the suitcase that Mike opened was filled with nothing but books. Some were blank paged hard cover books, like journals almost, others were notebooks, and others were just books with titles that made Scott think of Beast.

"You like to read huh?" Scott asked as Mike fished through a few of the books and pulled out a hard cover book, that was a decent size, but had blank pages for Mike to fill in.

"And write." Mike added with a nod. "Not much else for a kid like me to do."

"What do you mean a kid like you?"

"Well it's not like I can just up and go out to the nearest party." Mike said sarcastically. "A kid like me meaning the five foot fourteen year old with the mutant ability to constantly hear the thoughts running through other peoples minds."

"I guess that's got to be a little tough. But don't worry; I'm sure the professor can help you with that. I mean who better to help you with your telepathic abilities than the most powerful telepath in the world?" Scott asked with a slight smile.

"You really think he's that powerful?" Mike asked as he walked back towards the door, his book still resting in his hand.

"Yeah." Scott said as he turned off the light and the two of them walked out and down the hall again.

**MEANWHILE**

"Your butt is mine!!!!!" Screamed Will as James hit him with a colossal sized snowball, right in the head.

James laughed as he ducked down and gathered up a bit more snow. Meanwhile Jessica was out in a gymnast like outfit, flexible pants, with a nice shirt, but a lot of her skin, or fur if you prefer, was exposed. She jumped into the trees that lined the yard and stayed high up in the branches, her tail swaying back and forth, trying her best to avoid the boys that were below her sending snowballs in every which way.

"Hey no powers!" Chris shouted as John launched his own snowballs back at him while they were still in mid-air.

"Who made that rule?" Joe asked as he launched a snowball at James, but missed.

"I thought that was always the rule." Chris said as he gathered up another snowball to throw at John.

"Well in central park yeah, but here we can use our powers and no one can see us." John reminded. "So I say go ahead and use them."

"Fine." Chris said with a smirk. "Then give me a minute." Chris ran into the trees not to far away to shield him from any flying snowballs, and unclipped a piece of the jacket behind him.

"Oh come on." Will said as he launched a snowball at James but missed. "Everybody get Ja-!" He would've continued but he was cut off by another snowball hitting him directly in the chest and knocking him down. "OW! James man, yours really pack a punch." He said getting back up.

Chris gave a yell as he fell to his knees and two large membranes came out of the opened holes in his coat. They formed somewhat quickly, but painfully for Chris, and soon formed two huge bat-like wings, a twenty-foot wingspan. He stood up with a smile on his face; with two snowballs in hand he jumped into the air and took of flying. "Aerial assault!!!" He cried as he swooped down and launched his two snowballs directly at James.

James ducked and tried to jump out of the way to avoid the snowballs, but he failed, he was hit in the back and in the leg. He laughed as he gathered up another monstrous snowball to throw at Chris this time when suddenly a tiny little snowball hit him right in the face. "Hey!" He said looking up. "Oh, it's you." He said with a smile as his eyes met with Rebecca's. She came up and gave him a small quick kiss.

"Well hello to you too." She said with a smile. "Is this an all boys thing? Or can a girl play to?" She asked with an even bigger smile.

**MEANWHILE**

"What are they doing?"

"Being boys."

"Hey, where'd Chris go?"

"He's up there."

"He looks kind of evil with those wings out when you can't really see him."

"Yeah kind of. I can see why he picked the code name 'Dragon'."

"So then why'd you pick the code name Raven?"

"I like that name." Grace, also known as Raven, replied with a coy smile.

Grace, Elise, Megan, and Danielle were looking out the window of the living room area, watching the boys and now Rebecca play in their snowball fight.

"What time is it anyway?" Elise asked now realizing that it was definitely getting late.

"How can they even see to play in the snow? I mean it's seriously dark out there." Megan asked rhetorically as Elise walked away from the window, trying to find a clock.

"What's the matter, tired of watching your boyfriend get his butt kicked?" Danielle asked teasingly.

Elise smiled. "Will isn't getting his butt kicked, it's Joe that's getting creamed."

"He's not doing that badly." Grace countered.

"What are you all looking at?" Scott asked them as he and Mike came into the living room.

"We're watching Rebecca kick the butts of all the guys in a snowball fight." Elise said with a giggle.

"How can you tell who's winning?" He asked as he came up to the window.

"She hasn't been hit once." Megan said with a slight smile as Scott stood next to her.

"Oh. Well I'm showing Mike here a round the institute." He said turning to look at Mike. "As you can see, this is the living room, T.V. is over there, and we pretty much just hang here." He said with a shrug. "Come on I'll show you the library." Scott said as he headed towards the door.

"There's a library?" Mike asked with interest as he followed.

"Yeah. And I think Mr. McCoy and the Professor are in there too, which means you'll get to meet Hank. He's a member of the faculty here, you might have some training courses with him, or some tutoring if you need it." He said with a slight mile.

"Cool." Mike said with a nod. "So what are the other kids here like?" He asked as they walked. "I mean, this place is going to seem pretty crowded, especially for someone like me. Do you think it'll be a problem?"

"I don't think so. The others will respect that you're not into being around people a lot, at least until you learn how to control your abilities. Though a few of the younger ones might ask you what it was like living in New York City."

"I see." Mike said with a nod, but he hoped that if any of the kids wanted to know what NYC was like they'd ask one of the others.

"And this is it." Scott said opened a large wooden door at the end of the hall. "This is the library." He said walking into it.

Mike looked up and around, the fireplace was a nice touch, but he hardly even saw it. His eyes were instantly glued to the books, reading the various titles. "Wow... Um... Is this the end of the tour?"

"Yeah. Oh, Mr. McCoy, meet Michael Young. He's the one that introduced us to the warriors back in New York City." Scott said seeing Hank in the chair by the fireplace.

"It's nice to meet you." Hank said getting up and offering a hand.

Mike snapped out of his daydream-like gaze at shelf after shelf of books and turned to look at Mr. McCoy as he offered his hand. "It's nice to meet you." He said shaking it. "And uh... forgive me for answering your thoughts, but we're not reacting to your appearance because we've all kind of gotten use to mutants who don't look normal. All of us have met and spent time with Jessica and another mutant named Michael who looks like a giant tree."

Beast fell silent for a bit and just nodded. "It seems that we have another telepath in our midst."

"Sorry, it's just that I can't control it, and it seemed like a question worth answering." Mike apologized again. He turned and looked at Scott. "Um... I've been looking through the library, and I noticed that the books were arranged by author, correct?" He asked looking back at the bookshelves.

"Uh... Yeah." Scott answered.

"Well... Do you think it would be possible to get a copy of Macbeth?" He asked looking back to Scott. "I noticed it's the only piece of Shakespeare's well known works that you don't have."

"Oh, we have it." Beast said with a nod. "I was just reading it over by the fireplace."

"Oh good. I have a copy of it myself, but I do enjoy reading a different version of it every now and then." Mike said as he came back to stand with Beast and Scott.

"I'm surprised to find you so cultured at such a young age, much more surprised to find you a fan of Shakespeare." Beast said with a brow slightly raised.

Mike smiled. "Well, I can't claim that he's my favorite author, but I do enjoy his works, and his play Macbeth is my favorite play." Mike said. "And as for my age... well, I read, it's what I do. I've done it since I learned how. Even before my mutation manifested, and I'm not really that young, I'm fourteen."

"Really? You look to be much younger." Beast said noting the boy's height and young-looking, boyish face.

"I know, but I'm fourteen. Take a guess, how old do you think I look, twelve? Thirteen?"

"I was going to say ten." Beast answered honestly.

"That's a popular one recently." Mike said with a smile. "Don't worry, you're not the first person in the world to mistake me to be younger than I am. I've always guessed that maybe it's a side effect of my mutation. Maybe some how I age slower than normal. But I've got no way to really prove that, and it was just a day dream, so I think the mutation of telepathy is enough for me."

"Indeed." Beast said with a nod. "Tell me, if Shakespeare isn't your favorite author, who is?"

Mike laughed. "Oh, I find it so hard to choose some times. I mean, how can one pick a favorite star in the sky if he has not yet seen them all?"

"Well said." Beast smiled.

"But I suppose if I had to pick one... I think it would have to Edgar Allen Poe, maybe T.S. Elliot, but I think Poe would pull slightly a head." Mike shrugged. "What about you?"

"For me, I tend to enjoy Shakespeare more than other works of writing." Beast answered with a nod.

"Scott, if it's okay and all, I'm going to stay in here a while. Thanks for showing me around." Mike said with a nod to him.

"You're welcome. I'll be in the kitchen if you need me. Oh, and it might not be a good idea to stay up too much longer, the regular students will be arriving tomorrow morning, and I'm sure that the professor will want you to meet with them."

"Sure thing. I'll go to bed in a minute I'm pretty tired from the trip here. But first I want to just browse the shelves." Mike answered.

Scott nodded and with a brief goodbye left the library. Beast returned to his seat by the fireplace, and Mike stood in awe browsing the shelves before him.

**Coming soon... Chapter 3: Meet the Roommates II**

**Author's Note: REVIEW!!! PLEASE!**


	3. Meet the Roommates II

**Authors Note: And now for the chapter you've all been waiting for, the chapter where the Warriors get to meet the X-Men, or at least some of them. :p and now to respond to some of your reviews. By the way, is anyone wondering where Rogue and Nathan were during the last chapter? I mean Nathan wasn't anywhere to be seen, and Rogue just disappeared...**

**ldypebsaby: **Well now if I answered both of those questions than there wouldn't be much point to reading the story now would there? See if you can guess.

**Mark C:** You might have to wait a little for that danger room session. But trust me, there will be one.

**animejunkie1008:** Thank you. And I think at some point I will have Mike and Scott finish their conversation, but it will probably be a few chapters later.

**Ayu**: Thanks for the review! And yes, I know thirteen people might seem like a lot, but it's still fun.

**Chapter 3: Meet the Roommates II**

Wolverine's motorcycle sped down the driveway of the Xavier institute towards the garage. It was nice and quiet without the kids here. He was looking forward to just relaxing for a bit before the kids came, maybe watch some T.V. He pulled up to the garage and stopped when he saw another motorcycle. In his parking spot.

He sniffed as he checked out the bike; it was a newer model, very nice. The scents he got from it he didn't recognize. Two scents, one belonged to a girl... a woman, and the other to a small boy... her kid maybe? A mother and her son perhaps, he didn't recognize the scents but as he got closer to the door he did recognize one scent he got. It was faint, but it was there. Adanantium. He opened the door slowly as he came in. "Chuck?" He called as he sniffed, that whiff gave him a strong scent behind him; someone was standing there, without really thinking he drew his claws and whirled around with a yell. Only to be met by what looked like a ten year old boy holding up a book, which now had wolverine's claws through it.

"You destroyed my only copy of the scarlet letter!" The kid yelled at him as he let go of the book, which was suspended on Wolverine's claws.

"Um..." Wolverine retracted his claws catching the book and handing it back to Mike. "Where's the professor?" He asked taking another sniff of the air.

"He's in the living room with the others." Mike replied as he took the book and sighed, seeing that it was really destroyed now beyond readability.

"Others?" Logan asked raising a brow.

"Yeah. Others." Mike answered as he closed the book and looked back up to the man. Wolverine was short, but he was still three or so inches taller than Mike was. Not to mention the fact that Logan was buff, and mike was just... well scrawny, which made what he did next all that more surprising. "I hope you know you owe me a new book. I had to save up for six months so I could get this!"

"Calm down kid. I'll get ya a new book. You're too young to be reading this stuff anyway." Logan said taking the book from Mike. "I bet you don't even understand what it is you're reading."

"I-"Mike started, but the professor cut him off as he appeared in the doorway.

"Welcome back Logan. I see you've already met one of the new students." Xavier said as he wheeled into the room. "I'm sorry about your book Michael. We'll get you a new one as soon as we can, but right now, Logan and I have to talk." Xavier said and Logan nodded.

The two left, leaving Mike alone with one of his hardback journals. He sat on the windowsill and began writing.

**MEANWHILE**

"Everyone. I'd like you to meet Logan. He'll be your teacher for some training sessions, and some martial artistry if you're interested." Xavier said as he and Logan entered the living room.

Logan himself was surprised as he entered. There were about ten, maybe eleven, people there, the most notable was covered in golden brown fur, and had a tail, which was holding the remote control to the T.V. The other thing that was most notable was really two things, the two boys with blue hair. Twins, with an obvious dye job, that kind of color could only be the result of dye. They all stood up and from left to right Xavier introduced them. Starting with the girl with the fur.

"Logan this is, Jessica King also known as Animal, Joseph McKinley also known as Clone, Christian Van Hart also known as Dragon, Jonathan and William Howlett also known as Force and Warp, James King also known as King, Danielle Porter also known as Pitch, Grace Rutherford also known as Raven, Rebecca Davis also known as reflex, and Megan Lamont also known as Whisperer, and of course you've already met Michael." Xavier said making the introductions.

"Nice to meet you all." Logan said with a slight nod.

"Wait a minute. Has anyone seen Nathan?" Xavier asked curiously.

**MEANWHILE**

Rogue was walking down the hall of the dorm wing when she noticed an open door. It wasn't really like her to spy, but she was curious, so she stopped by the doorway and looked in.

There sat Nathan on his bed with his back towards her, his elbows resting on his knees and his head down. His room was now truly decked out in the gothic style. Shades were closed, music was playing, and candles were lit around a single picture on his nightstand. It surprised Rogue to see that the picture was of a girl Nathan's own age.

"You okay?" Rogue asked somewhat warily. "The door was open, Ah-"

"Get out." Nathan said his back still turned to her, not really moving. "And close the door."

"Are you-"

"I said get out." Nathan said bitterly as he turned, but not towards Rogue, towards his nightstand.

Rogue didn't know what to do or say. She stood there for a second and then closed the door. Slightly bewildered as she walked down the hall.

**MEANWHILE**

Michael's writing was interrupted as two cars pulled up the drive at roughly the same time. Out of the first stepped a beautiful, tall red head, which seemed the preppy cheerleader type. The second brought a brown haired girl who looked younger than the redhead. The two embraced slightly and then walked into the institute.

"Hello? Professor? Scott? I'm back!" The redhead called out as she and the other girl came in.

"Welcome back." Mike said looking over to them. "Name's Mike. I'm new here. The professor's in the living room I think, talking with Logan, I don't know where Scott is."

"Uh... Who are you?" Kitty asked raising a brow.

"Like I said my name's Mike." He said sitting up and closing his book. "It's nice to meet you Kitty. You too Jean."

"How'd you-?"

"Telepath." Mike said tapping his forehead with his finger. "It's an automatic type of thing."

"Oh." Jean responded with understanding.

"And sorry, I'm normally a lot friendlier, but that idiot Logan just destroyed one of my favorite books." Mike said pointing to the copy of the Scarlet letter that lay on the floor with paper scraps around it and three parallel holes through it.

"Um... Okay." Kitty said shrugging. "Well I'm gonna go put my stuff away." She said as she looked to Jean and left up the stairs towards her room. Jean followed, but right now she just wanted to talk to the professor. There was a new kid here? That was cool, but it was odd that the professor didn't tell any of them before they came back. She guessed that there just wasn't time. Oh well, having a new face around here might be fun. But he didn't seem all that friendly.

**MEANWHILE**

"Who's Nathan?" Logan asked looking to Charles.

"Another new student that I wanted you to meet." Xavier said with a nod. "But I guess you can meet with him later."

"Hey professor. I've been meaning to talk to you." One of the blue haired kids said. Logan thought that Chuck had said his name was Will.

"Yes William." Charles said politely.

"Well... I was wondering and all, New Years Eve is tomorrow night. Would it be okay to kind of... throw a party? Might be an interesting way of breaking the ice between us and the regular students." Will offered with a smile.

"Well... We'll see. There are other members of the faculty that I have to discuss it with." Charles said with a nod.

"Uh... Yeah. Well just let us know okay?" He said as he went back to talk to his brother and a few of the girls.

"A party?" Logan asked as he and Charles left the room again.

"It might not be a bad idea Logan. After all the children do need to get to know each other, and having some fun at a party might be a way for them to get closer without any pressure."

"Give me both groups in the danger room for two hours and I'll get them closer." Logan said with a smirk.

"I just might Logan. I just might." Xavier said as they turned the corner. "Ah Jean, Kitty, there you are." He said seeing the two of them walking down the hall towards Logan and himself. "Where are you two headed?"

"To the living room to watch some T.V." Jean answered with a smile.

"Yes... Well there are some new students here that I'd-."

"That's okay Professor, we've already met him. He met us by the front door. He was pretty ticked off at Logan though for destroying that book." Kitty interrupted.

"Well you see there's-."

"You should really think about replacing that book for him Mr. Logan." Kitty interrupted again. "I mean after all he is new you should cut him some slack."

"Kitty!" Logan yelled, which both surprised and stopped Kitty from talking. "The professor is trying to tell you something."

"...Yes. Well you see there's more than one new student." Xavier began. "Michael is just one of them. And he's also got a similar gift to yours Jean." Charles said looking up to her. "Which is why I want you to tutor him on how to use his abilities."

"Uh... Okay. I can teach him what you taught me." Jean offered as she put a hand on her hip.

"What other students?" Kitty asked curiously. "Are there any cute guys?"

"They're in the living room go and see for yourself." Logan grunted.

"Cool! You comin' Jean?" Kitty called as she started jogging towards the living room.

"Uh yeah. Professor? Where's Scott?" Jean asked glancing at Kitty as she started towards the living room.

"I have him picking Kurt up at the airport." Xavier answered. "He should be back soon."

Jean nodded and took off after Kitty. More like she allowed herself to be drug by Kitty.

Kitty's draw almost dropped as she hit the living room entrance. The first one to hit her eyes was this tall boy with long golden-blond hair that reached his shoulders, and the most mesmerizing green eyes that she'd ever seen. And the boy standing right next to him, short brown hair, handsome, tall, all of the guys were muscular and well built, but this one had an extra flare with gloves on each hand.

"Um... Hi. I'm Jean, and this is Kitty. We just got back."

One of the new ones got up, one who Jean noticed was completely covered and wore gloves on both hands. "Nice to meet you both. I'm Joe I guess you'll be calling me Clone." He said gesturing to himself. "That's Chris." He said pointing to Kitty's golden-haired dream date. "That's John. That's Will. That's James." He said pointing to a giant that stood up as his name was called. Six foot five or so inches, and more muscles than the governor of California. "That's Elise. That's Gracie. That's Megan. That's Jessica. That's Rebecca. And that's Danielle."

"It's nice to meet all of you." Jean said with a nod.

Kitty just kept her eyes glued on Chris who gave her a small smile. Jean nudged her a bit and she came too. "I'm Kitty." She said as if the entire conversation that had just happened had not taken place at all.

Joe laughed. "Nice to meet you too."

"Hey, you said your name was Jean?" Megan asked as she came up to them.

"Yeah." Jean nodded. "My name is Jean Grey."

"Oh cool. I'm your new roommate than." Megan said offering a hand. "Megan Lamont. AKA Whisperer."

"Whisperer?" Kitty asked curiously.

"That's my mutation, a kind of hypnotic suggestion, so I just picked the codename whisperer." Megan said with a slight nod.

"Interesting mutation." Jean commented.

"Isn't it though?" She said with a slight laugh. "When James saw me the first time he joked about it. Started calling me Obi-wan because it looked like a Jedi mind trick."

"So Kitty is it?" Joe asked with a smile. "What's your mutation?"

"I can uh... Phase through things." She said looking over to Joe. "Like this." And she took her hand and phased it through the wall, and held it back up again.

"Cool." Joe said with a nod.

"What's yours?"

"Well... It's a little complicated, but basically I become anyone I touch, even their mutation, I become an exact copy of them for about six or so hours." He explained. "Give or take."

"That's cool." Kitty commented with a smile.

**MEANWHILE**

Mike sat out in the windowsill of the entrance hall still. Writing various poetic verses, or sometimes switching a page and writing something else that he wanted to write. He had recorded the whole 'Logan destroying his book thing' and the entrance of the two girls into his journal. Maybe this place wouldn't be so bad after all, I mean come on, it does have a library.

Speaking of which, that's where Mike wanted to be now. He got up and closed his hardback journal, and put it under his arm as he headed towards the library. He was stopped though as he was passing the kitchen.

"Ah, and how fares my fellow Shakespeare reader?" Called Beasts voice as Mike stopped at the Kitchen's entrance.

"Okay I guess." Mike said shrugging.

"What's this? A frown doth dot your face young man, a lie you tell to me." Beast said with a smile.

"That's not from any of Shakespeare's works. You're just talking in old English." Mike said with a smirk.

"Ah good, I was afraid for a moment there that you would think it was a line from Shakespeare." Beast answered.

"You were testing me? Funny." Mike said with a smirk. "Here then. Where is this from?" Mike said clearing his throat.

"A smile for thee,

To shine away thy sorrow;

For Heaven is kind today, and we

Will hope as well tomorrow."

Mike recited the poem with ease and with a smile.

Beast seemed to be in thought for a moment... "Ah yes, Martin Tupper." Beast answered with a smile.

"I'm impressed." Mike said still smiling. "I've stifled English lit professor's with that one."

**END**

**Coming Soon.... Chapter 4: Meet the Roommates III**

**Author's Note: This should go without saying. But... Review!!!!!!!**


	4. The Danger Room

**Mark C:** Yes, I have read Origin, and the as for the Howlett twin's relations to Logan (if there are any) well... you'll just have to keep reading and find out.

**ldypebsaby:** Yes there will be pairings. I hinted at a few in the last chapter, and I'm going to hint at a few in this chapter. And as for School, School starts just after the New Year's Eve party. Be patient.

**TheLegendaryManHimself:** I think you'll find that Rogue has things in common with both Joe and Nathan, and interests in both of them, but each has their own set of baggage that they have to get through in order to have any relationship. But later on I'll be producing a development that will make things very interesting... very interesting indeed.

**Ayu**: Nathan is Nathan, the Professor, Logan, and Rogue will be working for a long time to get him to open up, and when he does it's not going to be pretty.

**c11thal:** I know that I've been a slacker in the plot department, but it was necessary to stall that to get all the introductions out of the way and to give you some insight into the many different characters before the plot actually began.

**CHAPTER 4: The Danger Room**

**Phone Booth, New York City, 2:15 PM**

"I'm telling you it was him..." The young man speaking into the phone said hoarsely. "I know! I thought he was dead too! But he was there! I saw him! He roughed up some of my guys and we tailed him for a bit..." The man sighed in fustration.

"I KNOW! BUT I SAW HIM WITH MY OWN TWO EYES!!!! I SWEAR!" He screamed into the phone. "Look..." He said, his voice becoming quiet again. "Just come to New York and meet me, he's slipped town again, but I know where he went." He paused as the person on the other line spoke. "But he's not dead! Look, you took days to return my call, now I'm telling you that unless you want to risk it, you need to meet me, and we need to pay him a visit."

"Just meet me..." The man paused again. "Okay, okay, Tuesday, just after New Years? All right. You come then, and I'll prove to you that King is still alive."

**MEANWHILE**

"Ah, Kurt, Scott, you're back." Hank said as he looked up from the chess game that he and Mike were playing in the front hall.

"Ja, it iz good to be back." Kurt said with his thick German accent, right now Kurt had his holographic watch on, covering his true self from the eyes of others. "Iz diz one of the new students?" He asked looking over to Scott and gesturing towards the kid that Hank was playing chess against.

"Yeah, Kurt Wagner, meet Michael Young AKA Psychic. Mike, meet Kurt Wagner, AKA Nightcrawler." Scott said making the introductions as he hung up his coat.

"Nice to meet you Kurt." Mike said offering his hand for a shake, which was taken and shook by Kurt. "Now that's odd..."

"Vhat?" Kurt asked looking to Mike.

"Your hand..." Mike said taking his hand back politely. "It felt fuzzy."

"Oh, that is my mutation... you see, this isn't vhat I really look like. I look more like Mr. McCoy." Kurt explained somewhat embarrassed.

"Ah, well I assure you it makes no difference to me one way or the other. I've already met Mr. McCoy here, and of course Jessica." Mike said with a nod and a shrug as he turned his attention back to the game.

"Jessica?" Kurt asked with a brow slightly raised.

Mike looked to Scott who was standing slightly behind Kurt. "I thought you said that you were going to tell him all about us?"

"Uh... Well there's a lot of you, I just didn't get to Jessica yet." Scott said with a slight apologetic smile.

"Well the rest are waiting for you in that 'Danger Room' thing. Ororo and her nephew Evan arrived a short while ago, and the rest of the X-Men have arrived too. But I would suggest that Kurt go in as his regular self, in fact it would probably make the others from the Warriors feel more comfortable. Especially Jessica." Mike said as he moved one of the chess pieces in front of him. "Check."

"Ah?" Beast said looking over the board. "Hmm..." He pondered a moment before moving another chess piece.

"Checkmate." Mike said as he quickly moved another one of his pieces and reclined back with a smile on his face.

Beast stared at the board for a while and then smiled. "Good game." He said with a laugh as he offered his hand for Mike to shake. "But next time I think I'm going to think more about the wisdom of challenging someone who can read my thoughts, and know my strategies." He said with a smile as Mike shook his hand.

"Now you know why Joe warned you." He said with a smile.

"Yeah... vell uh, I guess Scott and I should get to the danger room." Kurt said offering a hand to Scott. "You vant to come?" He asked looking to Mike.

"No, that's okay, I have to track down Nathan, and try to convince him to get down there." Mike said apologetically.

Kurt shrugged and then in a puff of black and blue smoke both Kurt and Scott were gone. Mike waved his hand in front of his face as he coughed a bit. "Ugh... that stuff reeks."

Hank merely laughed as he stood up.

**MEANWHILE**

Kurt and Scott bamfed into the danger room to be met with something they weren't prepared for. Kurt's holo was turned off, and his battle suit was on already. There coming straight for them was a young man with huge bat-like wings coming from his back flying straight at them. At the last possible second he swooped up and twirled as he rose into the air. "Vhat the?" Kurt asked as he looked around bewildered.

The danger room suddenly whirled as whatever simulation had been going on stopped. "Everyone, I'd like to introduce you to the final member of the X-Men. Nightcrawler." Xavier said as he wheeled into the room.

Kurt was about to say hi when from behind he was suddenly tackled... more like glomped. "He's fuzzy!!!!" He heard a girl's voice cry as he started to fall, but the girls grip on him was so strong that he wasn't going anywhere. His eyes met with a young girl, probably his age, which had her face buried in his arm, she herself, to Kurt's surprise, was covered in fur much like his. Although her fur was golden brown in color, and he could see that she even had a tail, though it was more like a monkey's or a cat's and didn't come to a point at the end like his did.

"Guten Tag..." He said out of breath as the girl was suddenly pulled off of him.

"...Jessica..." The man who pulled her off of him said. Kurt looked in disbelief at the size of him. "Sorry about her." He said as he held her up in the air by the back of her shirt, well off the ground. He stood at least six and a half feet tall, and his muscles were... well... big, huge, monstrous was more like it. "You must be Kurt. I'm James, and this is my sister." He said looking to the teen-age girl he was holding up. "Jessica." He set her down gently. "Sorry, she probably just got a little excited. She reacted the same way to Dr. McCoy." James said with a slight smile.

"It's okay." Kurt said as he straightened himself, and dusted himself off a bit. He looked around; there stood the X-men that he recognized. Logan with a smirk, Ororo, Evan, Jean, Kitty, Scott, Rogue, and the Professor, along with nine other teen-agers not including James and Jessica.

"Kurt this is James, and Jessica King, Joseph McKinley, John, and William Howlett, Chris Hart, Megan Lamont, Elise Kain, Danielle Porter, Grace Rutherford and Rebecca Davis." Xavier said as he wheeled closer to them all. "I'm sure Scott has already told you about them."

"Some of them..." Kurt said as he rubbed his arm a bit.

Xavier smiled. "Well I'll leave Ororo in charge of this little training session. Logan and I have something to take care of." He said with a nod to Logan as he began to wheel out of the room.

Ororo looked up. "Okay, I want each group to pick three people. The fastest, the strongest, and the most versatile in each group." She said looking to both the X-Men and the Warriors. "We're going to try a little obstacle course."

The Warriors all got together, and within moments presented their three for the obstacle course. James, Jessica, and John. Unlike the X-Men, these teens were dressed in street clothes, and not uniforms. The X-Men presented their three. Scott, Jean, and Kitty. If anyone could get through an obstacle course, it'd be those three.

The danger room itself whirred to life as the obstacles came up, a maze of sorts, with each team starting from a different place, each section of the maze either had bamboo like poles to climb and dodge, or booby traps laid about it. The rest watched from the control tower as the games began.

James looked around them they were surrounded by ten-foot walls on all but one side directly in front. "How do we get to the end?" Jessica asked curiously.

"John, take a leap directly up. Tell us where the finish line is." James said in a commanding tone.

"And then what?" Jessica asked again.

"And then I make a path to the exit." He said shifting into one of his metallic forms by touching one of the gray colored rings on his gloved right hand.

"Roger." John said with a smile as he squatted a bit and then took an amazing leap up into the air. He went up about forty or so feet before falling back to the very spot where he had landed, and he looked to James. "It's that way. Directly to our left." He said with a nod.

As James began punching down the walls that stood in their way Jean was already flying above and had seen John's leap. She too saw the exit, and kitty was already headed to it, by phasing through the walls. Scott however couldn't blast through the walls, he didn't want to hurt any of the other team, and he didn't know if there would be any there, so he kept walking down the corridors as Jean gave him directions.

It wasn't long until James' group came along a trap. Quite suddenly lines started shooting across the path in front of them, and a switch appeared on the end of the corridor. The walls leading there were filled with holes, darts, or something a lot like darts was being shot methodically. Jessica leaped and dodged her way past, and James just trudged his way through, getting hit by nearly everything that was launched his way, but none of it really made a difference. John however had some trouble; he couldn't just use his powers to block the darts, because he would end up sending them flying everywhere. So instead he jumped up and leapt over the trap, landing in front of Jessica.

"Who's winning?" Rogue asked Ororo in the control room.

"So far Kitty is the only one to make it out, but she's left the rest of her teammates in there. James' group seems to be constantly waiting up for someone so that all three of them are together the entire time. But they're still making good progress, James just punched his way past Scott and Jean." She answered as she watched the monitors and the things going on down below.

**MEANWHILE**

"I don't get it. Why do you want me to talk to him?" Logan asked as he and the professor walked outside.

"Because you're the only one here that can actually get close to relating with him. Forgive me for being frank Wolverine, but you've killed before, and so has he, that's what he needs up dealing with, and I fear that you're the only one here really qualified to help him, and the only one he'll listen to." Xavier said solemnly.

"What makes you think he'll listen to me?" Logan asked as the turned the corner.

"Because you're the only person that can relate to what he's going through. You need to be honest, and tell him about what you know of your past. Release a little, maybe it will benefit you too." Charles said as the stopped on the patio.

"I'm still not sure I like this." Logan admitted gruffly as he sat down on the stone bench there across from Charles.

"I realize that this might make you a bit uncomfortable, but it is for the best." Xavier said reassuringly.

Logan grunted. "Yeah, sure. So when do you want me to talk to this kid? I haven't even met him yet, and I've been here almost all day."

"Tonight I think would be best. And speaking of your being here, or more specifically, your arrival, I think it would be polite of you to get Michael a new copy of The Scarlet Letter." Charles said seriously.

"Yeah, yeah, I'll pick the kid up a comic book later on. I have to go out and get some new cigars anyway." Logan said with a smirk.

Charles sighed. "Not a comic book Logan. Michael is older, and far more civilized and intelligent than you seem to give him credit for."

"Yeah? How intelligent?" Logan asked as he sat back.

"I don't know. But any man that can outwit Hank in a quoting contest deserves some respect, whether he be ninety four, or nine." Charles said with a hint of a smile on his face.

"Just how old is that kid anyway?"

"Fourteen. His birthday is coming up soon, the beginning of February. Valentine's day to be specific." Charles said as he looked to Logan.

"How'd you find that out?" Logan asked curiously.

"Thomas gave me a computer disk with information on the new students, it's quite detailed." Xavier said looking over the railing of the patio. "He even lists their shoe sizes. It's amazing the amount of detail he put into it."

"Guess he has too much time on his hands." Logan said with a smirk.

Charles smiled softly. "Perhaps. But Logan there is something else I wanted to tell you. While we were in New York, Scott told me that he saw someone."

"Who?" Logan asked straightening up.

"Magneto." Charles answered solemnly.

"What was 'old bucket head doing in New York City?" Logan asked looking over to the Professor.

"Apparently trying to recruit the same mutant we were, Angel, but he too was unsuccessful, and it resulted in a battle between him and Angel, and then Scott and Rogue joined in." Charles said and then cleared his throat again. "But after that Scott said that he saw him again in the Robaldi Music Center, when the owner was attacked. It makes me wonder what he was doing there."

"Want me to find out? I can try to track him down, but New York City is a place with a lot of smells, and it's been days." Logan said with a shrug.

"It'd be no use trying to track him down. The ball is in his court. Now we have to wait."

**MEANWHILE**

"Look! Scott's gaining!" Evan called as the rest of them watched the events going on in the danger room below. It was now an all out race, Scott and James just blasting and bunching their way through the walls to get to the finish line. Jean and Kitty had already crossed, and at the last minute so did Jessica and John. Scott and James were neck and neck each only three walls from the finish line. It was exciting, exhilarating, everything that James hadn't felt in years, since he'd left Chicago and gone into hiding. Scott was merely doing it to win, but to James it was a goal, it was an aspiration, a dream, and he always tried his hardest. With one mighty run he shoulder tackled the last wall and it fell as he ran through to the finish line, just before Scott.

"James won!" Joe called as he and Chris gave each other a high five, Joe of course was wearing gloves. "He did it!"

Ororo smiled and looked down... wait... something was wrong... James had shifted back to normal, but... he wasn't getting up, it looked like he was clutching his chest. Within minutes Ororo and the rest were down there in the danger room. Kitty ran up to Ororo first. "What's wrong?" Ororo asked hurridly.

"We don't know! I think he might be having a heart attack!" Jean called out as they ran up.

Ororo turned. "Evan, get Hank." She called. "Chris, find the professor, tell him to meet us in the medical wing."

Both rushed out the door before another word was spoken. James had collapsed and was clutching his chest, specifically at his heart area.

Jessica was next to him crouched, but quickly stood when Kurt came in, and turned away a bit, you could tell tears were coming from her face, wetting her fur, she didn't know what was happening.

**END**

**Author's note: Would this be a good place to bring in James' heart problems? I hope so because I just did. Hope ya'll enjoyed that. If you did, then review and tell me what you thought! And if you didn't... well review and tell me why not!**

**Coming Soon... Chapter 5: Heart Trouble**


	5. Heart Trouble

**MiMi:** See, chapter 5 came quickly enough. And I did laugh though when you told me you cried. Sorry.

**Rustic Dragonfly:** Ah yes, there are a lot of new characters, but that is what makes the story original. Any one can write a story where one mutant joins the X-Men, and often that mutant is all-powerful. But how many stories do you know of that can keep 13 mutants, each with their own unique mutation and personality?

**ldypebsaby: **That is funny that you have a brother with the same birth date. I picked that day because Mike is such a romantic that it just seemed fitting that he be born on Valentine's day. And as for Kurt and Jessica... well... just read and find out.

**Mark C:** No, the people that are after James didn't cause the heart attack. It was partially caused by wear from his mutation, each time he shifted into a metal form it did damage to his heart, and his past lifestyle. But to find out what that past lifestyle was you're going to have to read and find out.

**Chapter 5: Heart Trouble**

James awoke to the sound of beeping monitors and hushed voices. He opened his eyes only to be blinded at first by the great overhead light in the infirmary. He turned his head to see Rebecca sitting next to his hospital bed, holding his hand, and his sister sitting next to her against the wall, both sound asleep. He looked up to the clock above his sister and noticed that it was mid-morning, about ten-thirty; his sister and Rebecca had probably been up all night.

Outside he could hear three voices, two of which he recognized as Dr. McCoy and the Professor, but the third he had never heard before. He looked around a bit and noticed that he was hooked up to a lot of machines, but the patient's gown he wore covered up from his neck down. He thought for a second about sitting up, but he realized that it wasn't such a good idea, so instead he merely closed his eyes again and listened to the voices in the hall.

"The device is working perfectly." The voice he didn't recognize said. "You let me know right away though if anything goes wrong."

"Of course." Xavier said. "I'm just disappointed that we had to resort to such drastic measures."

"Well there wasn't much else we could do professor." The voice James recognized as Dr. McCoy said. "The Aorta burst and there was so much damage done already that we had no conventional options left, we had to replace it."

"Yes, that I understand." Xavier's voice said. "But what caused all that damage in the first place?"

"Could be any number of things. Genetic disorder, hereditary disease, lifestyle, drugs, alcohol, STDs, or it could even be a side effect of his mutation, perhaps it was weakened by his shifting into his metal form." Beast said from down the hall.

"How will we know for sure?" Xavier asked with a hint of curiosity evident in his voice along with his usual touch of concern.

"A little bit of testing, and asking. We can ask him for any information he might be able to give us when he wakes up." Beast Answered.

"When will he wake up?" The voice James didn't recognize asked.

"Any moment now, could be within the next few hours, but by the latest he should be awake by tomorrow morning." Beast answered again.

"Okay, well I'm going to get back home, but here's that holo-watch you wanted professor." The mystery man said as James heard something being almost slapped into the professor's hand.

"Thank you Forge. I'll give this to her once she wakes up, I'm sure she'll be quite happy." Xavier said as the mystery man 'Forge' left the hall.

"Should we check on him?" Beast asked as James heard footsteps coming towards the door.

"You go ahead, I'm going to see what's going on upstairs and check on the other students." Xavier said before the two of them said a brief 'see ya, and Hank came into the room where James was lying on the hospital bed with his eyes closed, appearing to be asleep, or unconscious.

**MEANWHILE**

"So where are they?" Jean asked as most of the X-Men gathered in the kitchen with the exception of the adults.

"I think they all went out shopping." Scott answered as they all sat down.

"I think I saw that Mike kid go into the library a little while ago." Kitty said as she picked up a piece of fruit from the bowl in the center of the table.

"And Jessica is in the infirmary vith her brother and Rebecca." Kurt said as his tail also grabbed a piece of fruit from the center bowl.

Their talking was suddenly interrupted as a boy that only Scott and Rogue recognized came into the kitchen. He was dressed in full gothic regalia, so much so that he made Rogue look like a wanna-be. He wore a long sleeve fishnet shirt under a black t-shirt that had a graphic display of a dead clown on it, and two black gloves were on his hands which rested near his baggy black jeans that had more chains than you would've thought possible. His skin was dark, and it had a lot of piercing in it, all over his face he had rings and studs. A few on his eyebrows, one on his nose, a few on his left ear, and even a few on his lower lip. "Don't stop talking on my account." He said as he went over to the fridge.

"Oh, Jean, Kitty, Kurt, Evan, this is Nathan. Nathan, this is Jean, Kitty, Kurt, and Evan. And of course you already met Rogue and I." Scott said making the semi-formal introductions.

"Yeah, nice to meet you." He said as he opened up the fridge and began looking around in it.

"So uh... What's your power?" Kitty asked, somewhat friendly, and somewhat in a scared tone. There was something about this kid that just plain freaked her out.

Nathan stood up and walked over towards the table, holding something that resembled a slim-fast shake in his hand. "I kill things." He answered seriously as he took a seat and opened the shake.

"Excuse me?" Jean asked with a brow raised.

Nathan sighed as he took off his right glove. "Kitty right? Pass me a piece of fruit, but be careful, don't touch my skin."

Kitty picked up a piece of fruit and carefully, gingerly dropped it into his hand. At first nothing, but then towards the bottom a blackness seemed to creep over it and rapidly decay it, until nothing was left of the apple but black dust which rested in his hands.

He put his glove back on as he explained. "When I touch something, it dies. My skin creates these chemical toxins that automatically attack, destroy, and vaporize any organic material that they come in contact with." He said as he took a sip of the shake. "Can't eat organic foods, can't touch anyone's skin, can't touch any plants or animals, I can't do a lot of things, but I can kill things."

"That's... that's so sad." Kitty said with pity in her voice.

"Why? You shouldn't be sad. You didn't cause this, it's not your curse, not your problem." Nathan said as he fell silent again and took another sip of his shake.

"Well you seem tah be in a more sociable mood than you were yesterday." Rogue said, which somewhat surprised a few of the others.

Nathan shrugged. "Yesterday was a special day." He said as he stood up and began to leave, shake still in hand.

"Oh yeah? What was yesterday?" Evan asked just before Nathan made it out of the door.

Nathan stopped and seemed to hang his head a bit. "None of your business." He said simply and left.

"That was weird. He creeps me out." Jean said after he left.

"He is kind of creepy... but I don't know... he'd be cute without all those rings and stuff." Kitty said as she looked towards the door that Nathan had just left through.

Before any of them had a chance to say anything they were interrupted again, the others were back from shopping. In came Joe with a bag in each arm, and John and Will following close behind. "We're back. Well at least one car load of us is." John said as they all set the bags on the counter.

"We got the stuff for tonight." Will said with a smirk as he began to unload some of the bags.

"What all are you planning for tonight?" Jean asked looking to them.

Joe smiled as Will answered. "Oh you Bayville folk are in for a real party. New York City style." He said with a smile to Jean as he picked up a few paper plates and spun them on the tip of his finger like a basketball and set them down. "Hope you guys are in the mood for a party, it doesn't end until midnight."

Joe smiled somewhat. "Will's really gone all out on this one. This is going to be better than some of the parties he threw back in the city."

"Oh no." Elise said as she came in from the doorway. "I hope you don't destroy anything." Evan and Kurt laughed a bit.

"Oh come on. That was one time! And it wasn't my fault. Besides, there are gonna be chaperones at this party, what with the professor and all, and that Logan dude. Something tells me he's not going to be the definition of a 'party pooper'." Will said as he pulled out some sodas.

Kitty smiled. "He's alright. You just have to get used to him."

John smirked. "Well I don't think anyone really has to worry, I'm keeping an eye on my brother, nothing is going to get out of hand."

"You and that Logan fella should start a club." Will said as he, Evan, and Kurt laughed. Apparently they were the only ones that got the joke quickly.

**MEANWHILE**

"Hey, Doc. is it serious?" James asked as Beast stood studying his charts, which he had been doing for the past few minutes.

"Ah you're awake." Beast said with a pleasantly surprised smile on his face. "Well it's not serious any more. But there's something I must tell you. I'm afraid you won't be up for any strenuous physical activity for quite some time."

"Ah (bleep). Did I lose a leg or an arm or something?" James asked quietly, so as not to wake Rebecca or Jessica.

"Something..." Beast said cautiously. "You lost your heart."

"Uh..." James started.

"Let me explain." Beast began seeing the confused look on James' face. "You see just after you finished the danger room session, you shifted back into your normal physiology. Your skin became skin again. My theory is that all these years each time you shifted back into your normal form your heart took some damage for the transformation. That combined perhaps with the wrong kind of diet or lack of high-density-lipoproteins, ended up giving you a massive heart attack, which in turn caused heart failure and burst your Aorta."

"So what happened? You fixed it?" James asked concerned.

"Well not quite. You see your heart was so badly damaged that it was far beyond repair by the time you had the heart attack, we had to transplant you a new one. But because of the urgency of the case and other factors we were forced to use some unconventional methods and..." Beast paused.

"AND?!?!??" James shouted now, rousing Rebecca and Jessica.

"We had to transplant a machine created by a mutant named Forge that basically acts as an artificial heart. But you have to take it easy because we don't yet know the extent of control that your body has over the device." Beast said quickly.

James felt the left side of his chest, sure enough, he felt a few bumps, he removed part of his gown and saw a large scar just above were his heart would be, with a little bit of circuitry coming out of it and being graphed to his skin.

"You're awake!" His sister shouted as she woke up from James' shouting. "Rebecca! He's awake!" She said shaking Rebecca.

Rebecca awoke to see James up and feeling his chest were the circuitry now was above his heart. He looked down to her and smiled. "Guess I'll have to take it easy then until we find everything out." He said looking back up to Dr. McCoy. "How long until I can get out of this hospital bed though?"

"I want you to stay here until at least tomorrow. I need to monitor you for a bit to make sure you're going to be all right. But I see no reason why you can't be up and about by as early as tomorrow morning. With proper pacing of course." Beast answered.

"Yeah, yeah, you make me sound like an invalid." James said with a shrug. "I guess this puts an end to my weight lifting carrier."

"I've been meaning to speak with you about that. To be honest I'm amazed that this didn't happen much sooner than it did, but I need to know, where you ever on any drugs for enhancing your weight lifting performance?" Beast asked.

"You mean steroids? No. I never did steroids. But back when I lived in Chicago I did do drugs. I was involved big time with a local gang, but don't worry. I went through rehab and all a few years ago when we moved to New York City and Thomas found us." He said.

Beast looked to Jessica and she gave a saddened nod. "Okay then." He said marking a few things down.

Rebecca hugged him softly and sat back down. "It'll be okay." She said reassuringly. "Except for the weight lifting I don't think you'll ever notice the difference between now and before."

**MEANWHILE**

"Ah, Nathan there you are." Professor Xavier said as he wheeled into the room with Nathan sitting at the windowsill, looking outside towards the grounds. Logan was walking behind the professor but stayed silent for now. "This is Logan, he'll be your teacher in self defense, art, training, and he'll also be your counselor during your stay here." Charles said making the introductions. "Logan, this is Nathaniel Albarran."

"Nice to meet you kid." Logan said somewhat gruffly.

Nathan at first didn't respond but turned his gaze back towards the window. "Same here." He said finally. "You know if James is going to be okay? I heard about what happened in that danger room session."

"Yes, Hank says that he'll be fine, we're just waiting for him to wake up." Xavier said with a side-glance to Logan.

"Hank?" Nathan asked not recognizing the name.

"Yes, Dr. Henry McCoy, who I believe you met on your tour when you first arrived." Charles said politely.

"Yeah I remember, he's the one that was stupid enough to challenge Mike to a game of chess yesterday." Nathan said turning back towards them. "You must be the idiot that destroyed his book." He said looking to Logan.

"I'm getting the kid a new one." Logan mumbled in a growling tone.

Nathan smirked a bit and then turned back towards the window. A few seconds of silence past. "Why are you still here?" He asked turning to see the Professor and Logan still there looking at him.

"Nathan. I want you to know that any time you want to talk, you can come to either Logan or I." Charles said peacefully. "And nothing you have to say can be too gruesome or abnormal for either of us to handle. We're here to listen and to help you."

Nathan turned back to the window. "Help somebody who wants it. Can you remove my powers?" He paused and looked at the professor with a dead on glare that even the professor had to stop from shrinking away from. "Than you can't help."

"Very well Nathan. But we are here if you need us. We'll see you at Will's party tonight. Correct?" The Professor asked as he and Logan began to leave.

"Yeah, yeah, I'll be there." Nathan said turning back to the window, right now he just wanted to be alone.

**MEANWHILE**

"I want to know why Xavier's brats where there!" Magneto slammed his fist against his desk. "You'll find out why." He said turning to the shrouded figure before him.

"Of course I will. It is what I said I would do." The man answered.

"How will you do it?" Magneto wanted answers, and he wanted them now. "A direct attack on Xavier's is not a good idea." He warned.

"There are ways of gathering information that do not include violence." The man answered. "Although I have nothing against it, I will find out the information you seek without killing or attacking anyone. I give you my word."

**END**

**Author's Note:** REVIEW!! **REVIEW!!** REVIEW!! **REVIEW!!** Please? I hope you guys liked this chapter, it was kind of the lull before the storm. The next chapter will have plenty of plot and action. I mean after all, it's a party.

**Coming Soon... Chapter 6: New Year's**


	6. New Year's

**ldypebsaby:** Well in all honesty I'm glad that caught you by surprise, that's what makes the surprise fun, is that other people found it surprising.

**TheLegendaryManHimself:** Yes it was strange, but Kitty is Kitty, she sometimes says random girlie things, and that was what popped in my head while I was writing, so I wrote it. ï And that's an interesting tradition, I've never heard of it before... I think I'll use it in real life this New Year's.

**Animejunkie1008**: Thank you for the compliment! And Jessica will get her holo-watch in an up coming chapter, and yeah, it'll kind of focus mainly on her, but there'll be more fun stuff, like my introduction of the brotherhood.

**Mark C:** I don't like the idea of a device suppressing his powers, but after a while I'll be introducing a mutant that will be able to do just that. I'll give you a hint; her name starts with a W.

**Ayu:** Now see if I told you all of those things, there'd be no point at all to read the story, which doesn't make for good writing, or good reading. So I guess you'll have to just sit, read, and find out the hard way.

**Chapter 6: New Year's**

"What's he doing in there?" Kitty asked as she came up to the living room door, which was closed and shut.

Scott, Kurt, Evan, and one of the girls from the Warriors were outside the door; Danielle, Kitty thought her name was. "I have no idea." Danielle said looking over to Kitty.

Kitty gently pressed her ear up against the door, and raised a brow as the sound of hammering, drilling, banging, shuffling, and even an 'ow!' came through the door to her ears.

John came up next to her and smiled slightly. "Excuse me." He said opening the door and giving an apologetic nod to Kitty as he closed it behind him. He looked over to the other side of the door Kitty was listening to, to see Will squatted down with a drill in his hand right next to the door, holding it for Kitty to listen to. "You're horrible, you should just let them all in. All the decorations are done."

Will smiled. "Not yet, party doesn't start for another ten minutes." He said as he stood up with a laugh.

**MEANWHILE**

"Go to the party!"

"No!"

"Yes!"

"No!"

"Yes!" James shouted as he threw the pillow from behind his head at Rebecca who easily caught it. "Just cause I'm in here doesn't mean that you can't go have fun!" He said with a frown.

"But I don't want to go, I want to be here with you, and besides, I won't have anyone to dance with!" She hollered back at him. "My boyfriend just had a heart attack! I would think that you wanted me here with you!"

"Well I don't want you to miss out because of me! I feel bad enough that I have to miss out!" He countered. "Just go and have fun!"

"No!" Rebecca hollered.

"Yes!" James hollered back as the pillow he had thrown just a few seconds ago flew through the air and hit him.

Jessica stood up against the wall just outside the infirmary door. She sighed and hung her head. "They argue so much if I didn't know any better I'd think they were enemies."

"Or married." Elise said with a smile as she came up to Jessica. "Is he doing okay?"

Jessica smiled somewhat weakly. "Yeah, he's doing fine, well enough to argue with Rebecca anyway."

Elise smiled. "Well even if James doesn't win, and Rebecca doesn't come, you're still coming to Will's party right?"

Jessica shrugged. "Maybe. With all the excitement I haven't really thought about it that much." She said as her tail wagged behind her a bit.

"Oh you're coming." Elise said with a smile. "Do you have an outfit picked out?"

"What's wrong with what I'm wearing?" Jessica asked looking at her baggy jeans, bare feet, and tank top.

"Oh girl, we're gonna get you made up, get you to draw a certain blue mutant's attention." Elise said with another smile.

"Why would I want Mr. McCoy to give me attention?" Jessica asked innocently and seriously.

Elise busted out laughing. "What?" Jessica asked again.

"Just come on." She said taking Jessica by the arm and dragging her down the hallway to the upstairs dorm rooms.

**MEANWHILE**

"Come on!" Mike yelled at the bedroom door as he kicked it. "Unlock!" He yelled and then sighed as he collapsed against the wall opposite his door, sinking down to the ground.

"Here, let me see if I can help." Jean, the redheaded girl he'd met before, said as she came up to him.

"Thanks." He said as he looked over to her. "But what can you-?" He was cut off as Jean raised her hand towards the door and a clicking noise was heard as the door first unlocked, and then opened itself.

"Thank you." He said again as he stood up and looked in somewhat awe at the door that had just opened.

"You're welcome. Mike right?" Jean asked as he headed in the door.

"Yeah, that's me, resident telepath of the Warriors." Mike said as he gave a small smile. "Third one here I'm told. I've already met the professor, can't wait to meet the one he said would tutor me in how to use these powers." He said as he unzipped one of the suitcases.

"That would be me." Jean said stepping into the room. "I guess I never told you my powers, I'd be the second telepath, you're uh... tutor."

"Nice to meet you." Mike said with a nod. "But uh... if you don't mind. Could we start the tutoring later? I kind of need to get changed, and I'd prefer to do that alone." He said with a small smile.

Jean nodded. "Oh sure." She said with a smile as she turned around to leave. "Just thought I'd help out." She said cheerfully as she left and shut the door behind her.

She walked down the hall two doors before she was hit with a shockwave of music, heavy metal music that seemed to vibrate the very floor she was walking on. It wasn't the music from the party; it was coming from that room. She knocked quite loudly, and quickly for a few minutes, literally pounding on the door, but to no avail. Finally she went against her better judgment and telekinetically knocked the door open.

The music abruptly stopped. "You always knock people's door's open uninvited?" Nathan asked as he turned around to see her.

Even his very room was creepy, giving Jean the chills as soon as she set foot inside it. "Sorry, but the music was a bit loud, I thought I'd see if everything was okay."

Nathan scoffed. "No, it's not, but that doesn't necessarily give you the write to invade on other people's privacy."

"What's wrong?" She asked innocently.

"What's wrong in the big picture is the fact that I can't touch someone without killing them. What's wrong in the long run is that the world is going to hell in a hand basket, and there isn't a thing none of us can do about it. And what's wrong right now is that you're in my room uninvited!" He raised his voice ever so slightly as he turned back on the music, not giving Jean the option of responding.

Jean looked apologetic but instead of trying she just left, shutting the door loudly behind her. "Anything wrong?" Rogue asked in her thick southern accent as she stopped in front of Jean.

"Yeah, but I wouldn't ask Nathan that." Jean said which brought a confused look from Rogue. "Come on, I'll explain it on the way to that party downstairs." She said as they started walking.

**MEANWHILE**

"Ladies and Gentlemen, it's party time." Will said as the living room doors burst open, to the people waiting outside of it. Even the newer X-Men like Rayne and Cannonball, and Jamie were there waiting, all of them, even the warriors, except for Will and John, wondering what to expect.

Their eyes met a long table in white tablecloth on the side of the room. At one-end drinks, at the other end plates, and all along it food of all kinds for the party. There was a wooden makeshift dance floor between the food table and the couch, with a D.J. set up at the end of it towards the windows. The couch had several movies next to it, a movie playing on it. Balloons and decorations were everywhere, and on the ceiling was a net, which held an army of balloons that were obviously going to be released at midnight.

"Oh cool." Jamie said as he was the first into the room, and the others all followed in behind him.

"I don't get it. What makes this party so special?" Cannonball asked as he came in. Will clapped his hands as if in answer and immediately the lights went off, and the room was illuminated by blue and green glow in the dark designs on the walls. Including a glow in the dark banner saying 'Happy New Year' and the year. "Wow."

"Wow indeed." Xavier said as he wheeled in behind the students.

"And now for the best part." Will said as he went behind the D.J. Station. "Well don't just stand there, get this party started!" He called as he cranked on the music.

The Warrior girls, Danielle, Grace, and Megan were on the dance floor in seconds, dragging along with them Evan, Joe, and Scott.

Scott was a bit a tense at first, but he eventually loosened into it, and turned out to be a decent dancer to Megan's happiness, Evan and Danielle were just goofing off and having fun with it, and Grace and John were just having fun and dancing. And it wasn't long until the others were too.

Kitty and Chris were eating and talking, mostly laughing. To be honest Kitty thought he was cute, but she had a boyfriend, Lance, from the brotherhood. Besides, she wasn't even sure how Chris saw her, for all she knew he might just look at her like a little sister.

Rogue and Jean came into the scene a bit late. The only ones not on the dance floor were Will who was working as the D.J. and Joe, Mike, and Kurt who were watching the movie. "Scott?" Jean asked looking around.

"He's over there." Rogue said as she pointed to the dance floor.

"Oh..." Jean said and then fell silent a bit.

Quite suddenly Joe appeared next to them, which caused both Rogue and Jean to jump a bit. "Would you like to dance?" Joe asked Rogue as he came up to her, seemingly not at all nervous, although he really was.

"The last time I danced with someone they ended up in a coma." Rogue answered somewhat harshly.

"And the last time I danced with someone I was stuck in Grace's body for the rest of the night." Joe said with a slight smile. "What's life if there aren't any second chances?" He asked holding out his gloved hand for Rogue to take.

Rogue paused for a bit, but then took his hand carefully as he led her to the dance floor. Who knows, she might even have fun.

"You want to dance?" Jean asked Mike cheerfully as she came up next to him. "Come on friend to friend, telepath to telepath." She said with a smile.

"I'd like to... but, I don't think I should, the dance floor is pretty crowded, and uh... I might end up loosing a bit of control..." He answered with a wary glance to the dance floor.

"Here." She said holding her hand towards his head. "Let me help." She said as she opened her palm.

Immediately her voice that had been resounding in his head stopped. "What did you-?"

"I put up a psychic barrier, it'll only last a while, but at least you can have some fun." Jean answered with a smile.

Mike smiled thankfully and stood up. He was short, even compared to Jean, but that didn't really matter, she saw him like a little brother, I mean how old was he? Twelve?

"Vhat about me?" Kurt asked after Jean and Mike left to the dance floor, but there was nobody left to hear him.

**MEANWHILE**

"Would you go already?"

"No!"

"Fine then! Stay here and be miserable!"

"I will and I'll cheer you up in the meanwhile!"

"I'm not depressed!"

"You're sad and you know it!"

"I'm not sad!"

"Yes you are!"

"Alright fine, I'm sad! Boo hoo! Now can we stop arguing? My throat is starting to get sore."

"Hold on. I'll get you some water." Rebecca said with a smile as she picked up the cup that rested on the nightstand-like thing that was next to James' hospital bed.

**MEANWHILE**

"You want to dance?" A female voice asked from the right of Kurt as he sat watching the movie. He didn't quite recognize the voice, so he turned his head. What met his eyes was something he wasn't quite prepared for. There stood Jessica dressed in a nice skirt which reached just above her knees, with a V neck top that fit her quite nicely, her skin covered in her delicate looking fur, but she obviously had a great figure and tone to her, he hadn't been able to tell that earlier when she had tackled him in the danger room.

"Uh... Uh... Yes." Kurt said as he stood up somewhat nervously.

Jessica giggled at Kurt's nervous smile as the two of them made it to the dance floor, which was now full, except for a few people scattered here and there eating some food on plates and just talking.

"What's the matter Logan, not a fan of modern music?" Xavier asked with a smile as Logan stood smoking a cigar in the doorway.

"It's a little loud for my taste." He answered as he put the cigar to his lips.

"Mine as well, but Will has already turned the music down twice." Xavier answered. "Besides, it's a party, there are plenty of things to eat if you're hungry. Grab a plate."

"Yeah. When's this thing supposed to end anyway?" Logan asked gruffly.

"At midnight of course. After all it is New Year's Eve Logan." Charles answered as he rolled over a bit.

"Great, four more hours of this." Logan said as he headed towards the food table.

"I wonder where Nathan is... He said he'd be here." Xavier said aloud as his eyes scanned the room.

"He'd be the kid standing behind you." Nathan answered as he came into the room and Xavier turned his wheelchair so he could see him.

"Ah, Nathan. I'm glad you came." Charles said with a nod.

"I said I would didn't I?" Nathan asked with a brow raised. "Now if you'll excuse me, I think I'll go make fun of the movie that's playing over there." He said pointing towards the couch.

"Of course, but why don't you get some food first, we can eat and talk a bit?" Xavier offered politely as he gestured over to the food table on the other side of the room.

Nathan looked over to the food table and smirked. "Let's see... buffalo wings, shrimp, other organic stuff... Nothing I can eat over there."

"I didn't realize that you were on a diet." Xavier said innocently.

Nathan laughed a bit, an odd laugh that sounded more to Xavier like an expression of sorrow than an expression of joy. "It's all organic." Nathan answered. "If I try and eat it, it'll turn to dust as soon as it hits my mouth. Sucks to be me huh?"

"Oh." Xavier said apologetically. "I'm sorry I didn't realize."

"It's fine. If you want though, you can still eat and we can talk, I'll just have some water." Nathan said as he shrugged.

"I'd like that." Xavier said with a kind smile.

"Where'd you learn to dance?" Jessica asked Kurt as they continued to dance on the dance floor.

"I never did. I'm just making it up as I go along." Kurt said with a slight smile, which revealed his fanged teeth.

Jessica giggled. "Well you're doing a good job of it." She said with a somewhat flirtatious smile, which showed her fanged teeth as well.

"Vhere did you learn to dance?" Kurt asked with a brow raised.

"My brother taught me a bit, and we used to live just above a dance club that he worked at, so I picked some up." She said with a shrug.

They were suddenly interrupted by Will's voice coming over the speakers in place of the music. "Guys and Gals, it is now eight o'clock, we're a half hour into the dancing and partying, and nothing has been destroyed, blown up, or cut in half." He said with a slight chuckle. "I think we've deserved a break in the music, and I'm hungry. So just chill, eat, talk, watch some of that movie we've got going, and then get back on this dance floor in about ten minutes. Oh, and have fun! Yeah you too Nathan." Will said which made a few of the Warriors laugh.

**END**

**Author's note:** **I'd like to thank all of you who have read and reviewed, it's really been encouraging to hear what you all think of my writing and my stories.** **It might be a while before the next chapter gets up, because I have to work on my other story "Spyder Warrior" But don't worry, I think it'll be worth the wait... I think.** **When we get back we'll have the lady's pick dance, and the dance off. Some interesting couples will develop because of this, and some of them aren't with current people's dance partners. It'll be interesting, so keep reading! Oh, and uh.... REVIEW! **


	7. Dancing

**ldypebsaby:** Nothing destroyed yet. Keyword. Yet. You've still got three and a half hours to go.

**Drunk on Tang:** Thank you very much! Yes, thirteen is a lot of people, but stuff will be happening soon to take away some of those numbers. Who will leave and who will stay? I'm not going to tell anyone… so ha!

**TheLegendaryManHimself:** Well with Nathan it's not really the inside of his mouth, but his lips, and something is odd with his saliva, but it's not the same as his skin, his saliva is just highly acidic.

**Waytoevil**: I had thought of creating a c2 community, but since no one else has bothered to write a story using any of the warriors, I decided against it. Maybe I'll wait a bit and then I'll create one. But if you want to create one, I'm not going to stop you.

**Mark C:** Yes, it could be just an innocent dance with Megan, at least on Scott's part, but on her part… No.

**Author's Note:** Wow, everyone seems to like the Jessica/Kurt pairing. Cool. I had my doubts about that one at first, but I went through with it, now I'm glad I did.

**Chapter 7: Dancing**

"Well everyone, get your butts back on the dance floor." Will's voice came out the speakers. "Cause right now it's the Lady's pick slow dance." Soft music began playing in the background. "Girls, get your guys, whoever you want to dance with, and drag them kicking and screaming onto this dance floor."

A few laughed but most were just nervous. Jean headed towards Scott, but Megan was already there, and she and Scott were headed towards the dance floor already.

Rogue looked over to Joe. "You want to dance again?" She asked quietly, not quite expecting yes for an answer, but smiled as Joe took her hand and led her to the dance floor.

Jessica looked to Kurt who smiled and nodded; both were on the dance floor with everyone else.

"Would you like to dance?" John turned to see a pleasant looking young girl looking up at him with an awkward smile.

"I'd love to." John said with a gentle smile as he offered her his hand with a slight nod. The two began dancing with her hands on his shoulders, and his hands gently on her waist. "So what is your name?" John asked politely as they began to dance.

She smiled. "My name is Amara." She said with a smile. "And yours is John right? Will's brother?"

John nodded. "Yes." He said, as he looked over a bit, there were Will and Elise dancing on the floor as well. "So, where are you from Amara?" He asked with a smile.

Amara smiled. "A country that nobody's ever heard of." She said with a slight giggle. "I'm from a small country called Nova-."

"Roma." John finished her sentence. "Yes, I've heard of it." He said with a nod.

"You have?" She asked somewhat skeptically.

"My father is in politics, and I've studied many different countries and their cultures over the years. Nova Roma is a small country in the Amazon, a group of Romans founded it when the Roman nation was destroyed correct?" John asked with a brow slightly raised.

"Yes…" She said and then paused.

"You're last name wouldn't be Aquilla would it? Amara Aquilla, daughter of King Lucius Aquilla?" John asked as they danced.

Amara blushed. "Maybe." She said with a slight smile.

"Well then princess it is an honor to dance with you, and to meet you of course." He said with a smile.

"Now don't go treating me differently because of my father." She warned.

"So long as you don't treat me differently because of mine." He answered.

"And who is your father?" She asked with a brow slightly raised.

John merely smiled as they continued dancing, but he never answered.

Jessica glanced around the dance floor, and saw Will and Elise dancing with Elise's head up against Will's chest and shoulders, so trying to be a good dancer she did the exact same thing, resting her head next to her wrists on Kurt's chest and shoulder.

Kurt looked up to see Megan and Scott. Scott smiled and Kurt gave him the thumbs up sign with Jessica's head against his chest.

Mike however was not dancing with Jean this time. In fact he wasn't dancing at all, the psychic shield had faded, and he couldn't figure out how to put a new one in, and didn't want to ask Jean for help. Instead he sat and watched the movie next to Nathan, who was talking with the professor.

Chris on the other hand was dancing with Rayne, who had asked him before Kitty had the chance. Danielle and Evan were also dancing. The others were scattered across the room eating, talking and just having fun.

**MEANWHILE**

"You sure you don't want to go the party?" James asked as he looked over to Rebecca who was sitting next to his bedside.

"I'm sure." She said giving him a gentle kiss.

"Okay, but you're missing a lot of fun." James warned.

"Oh stop it." Rebecca said with a smile. "I'll be having fun with you once you're out of your bed, you still wanted a rematch with that snowball fight right?"

James smiled. "Of course. So long as Hank says I can do stuff like that."

"I'm sure you'll be back to yourself in no time, you'll just have to take it easy with the exercise. Maybe let that Logan guy take over with the other's physical fitness." Rebecca said with a smirk.

"Yeah. I guess you're right." James said resignedly. "Well, Happy New Years. Let's see if we can get a movie or something down here." He said with a smirk. "I'm gonna be bored as hell if I have to just stay in this bed."

Rebecca smiled.

**MEANWHILE**

Rogue and Joe were dancing, but closer than Rogue was comfortable with. She lengthened the distance, and Joe could tell what she was worried about. He gave her a reassuring smile, but it didn't seem to do much good. She honestly didn't know how she felt about Joe, she felt she had more in common with Nathan, but Nathan didn't seem interested in anyone but himself and his own problems. Joe however was good and kind, a lot like Scott in a way, but a lot like her in another… She didn't know what to think.

**VVVV**

Hank stood at the food table next to Logan who was downing some punch. "It's nice to see isn't it Logan?"

"What?" Logan asked turning a bit to look at him.

"The students, acting like students. Having fun, dancing, care free for a short while." Hank answered. "At least most of them."

"I assume you're talking about that Nathan." Logan said gruffly.

"Well him yes, but no. I was talking about Michael." Hank said concernedly. "You see he too is forced from social interaction because of his abilities. From what few discussions I've had with him I gather that he views his powers merely as a reality, something that he has to deal with and so he deals with it in the way he knows how. Nathan however, views his ability as a curse, and yet some others, as a gift."

"Well what can you expect?" Logan asked as he took a sip of his drink. "Some people just have different views on life. That's all."

"Yes, but… Oh never mind." Hank said with a sigh as he gave up. For some reason he couldn't formulate what he wanted to say into words. "Perhaps I'll go check on James in the infirmary."

"I've been meaning to ask you about him, a few of the students are curious as to if he'll be alright." Logan said a little unconcerned.

"As am I." Hank answered.

"You don't know if he's going to be okay?"

"I have no idea." Hank answered honestly. "I'm not even sure how he survived except for that his body just didn't want to die."

"Maybe it just wasn't his time." Logan suggested.

"Maybe." Hank nodded in agreement. "Maybe."

**VVVV**

"So where did you learn to dance?" John asked Amara as the next song started.

"I've learned since I was little, finishing school, things like that. What about you?" She asked curiously.

"My brother and I both learned how to dance when we were young, but we took different styles. You see my brother is more a hands on, street personality. Where as he calls me a ballroom, wall street personality. I guess he sees me as more refined then he. You see dancing is an art form, how one dances, depends on their taste in that art form. I prefer proper and traditional, classical, I guess you could call it. While he prefers modern, up to date ways." John answered.

"I've been meaning to ask you… Why did both you and your brother dye your hair blue?" Amara asked curiously as she glanced up to his icy blue hair.

John smiled. "We didn't. It's part of our mutation." John answered. "We just let everyone think we dyed it since it looks that way."

"It's really part of your mutation?" Amara asked not really expecting an answer, but John nodded. "That's cool. What exactly is your mutation anyway?"

"Well apart from the head of blue hair I can create force fields that expand away from me." John explained.

"I saw you in the danger room, that jump you made straight into the air. How did you manage to do that?" She asked with a smile.

"Well by creating such a force field underneath of myself I can generate enough force to repel me up to fifty feet in the air." John explained. "And by angling the fields differently I can cause myself to go up as well as forwards, backwards, sideways, or any combination I so choose."

"That's cool." Amara said with a nod.

"And what about you?" John asked with a smile. "What is your gift?"

"I can create fire, and throw it." Amara said with a slight nod. "That's an extremely simplified definition, but I don't know how else to explain it."

John nodded. "That's fine, a useful ability I'm sure."

**MEANWHILE**

"Oh good. What movie did you pick?" James asked as Rebecca came back into the room.

"You'll see." She said as she turned on the TV across from James' bed, and put the movie into the VCR without letting him see it. She came over to the bed. "Move over and roll onto your side." She said as she poked him.

James did as told and she joined him, both lying down, but with Rebecca closer to the TV, James' large arm wrapped around her. She felt small in his embrace. As would anyone she supposed.

The movie started and they got through the previews and James groaned. At first she thought it was something that she had done that hurt him physically. But then he spoke. "A walk to remember? You put in a walk to remember?"

"Just shut up and watch the movie." Rebecca warned as she snuggled into his arm.

**MEANWHILE**

"You want me to go where with you?" Nathan asked as he raised a brow.

"It's not what you think. There's this girl staying there that might benefit from meeting you. You two have things in common." The professor answered.

"Such as?" Nathan asked, seeming almost rude, but he was actually curious as to why the Professor wanted him to meet and talk with this girl in the mental asylum.

"Anger, hatred for your fathers, and uncontrollable powers." The professor answered.

Nathan thought about it for a bit. "Fine, I'll go with you." He agreed. "But what exactly are her powers?"

"Well they are quite uncontrollable, but she won't have the use of them as they keep her hands tightly bound. You needn't worry, she won't harm you, or endanger your life, which is the only reason I'm willing to ask you to come with me." Xavier said as he sipped some of his drink.

"Professor if there's one thing you need to know about me it's this. I do not fear death. In fact, death isn't something to be feared. It's something to be looked forward to." Nathan said with a straight face, and an odd look in his eyes, which seemed to oddly sober the professor.

**VVVV**

"What are they talking about anyway?" Jean asked Mike as he came up to the drinks where she was standing. She was looking directly at the Professor and Nathan.

"I don't know. I don't like to butt in on conversations that aren't meant for my ears. And I was far enough away that I didn't pick up their thoughts." Mike answered as he poured himself some soda.

"Do you think that Megan girl is actually interested in Scott?" Jean asked seriously. She felt like she could confide in Mike, after all, with his telepathy he'd told her that he'd picked up secret thoughts not meant for his mind, and he'd never told anyone any of them. All of the Warriors trusted him, especially with their secrets.

Mike smirked. "Wouldn't know. The way they kissed back in New York might've started something though. You can talk to Megan about it later, she's your new roommate." Mike said as he walked off.

"What?" Jean nearly shouted and a few people looked at her oddly before she glanced around and went after Mike.

**VVVV**

"So you're a photographer?" Kitty asked Chris as they stood eating some food. Well, Chris was eating, Kitty was just holding a plate with some food on it, and she'd never actually eaten any of it yet.

"Yeah, it's a hobby of mine. I like to get shots from a 'bird's eye view' it's really cool. I'll show you some later." He said as he ate a forkful of food.

"Looks like John and Amara are getting along." Kitty said with a giggle as she looked to the dance floor.

"Good for John. Every since he lost Elise to Will he's never really done the dating thing. Glad to see he's back at it." Chris said with a smile as he looked to the dance floor.

"Whoa, I never heard that part of the story." Kitty said as she held up a hand. "He lost Elise to Will? Why? How? What happened?"

Chris chuckled. "It's a long story. One I'm sure that Will or John could tell you much better than I could. You want to know it, you're gonna have to ask them."

Kitty pouted but Chris wouldn't budge on the issue, to her disappointment. "Well Jessica and Kurt make a cute couple."

Chris smiled. "Yeah, I feel bad for Kurt. He does anything to hurt Jessica and he's gonna have James to deal with."

"I don't think they have anything to worry about, besides, James isn't the kind to get angry. Is he?" Kitty asked.

"When it comes to his little sister? You better believe it." Chris answered. "I've seen him hurl busses through the air no sweat when he's healthy, but if one thing can be said about him, he's protective. Someone goes after Rebecca or Jessica, they're going to have one ticked off ton of strength coming after them."

"You think he'd do something to hurt Kurt?" Kitty asked concernedly.

"No. He's protective, but he usually keeps a cool head. Besides, he never has to do anything really, he's got that intimidation thing down." Chris answered with a smile.

"Yeah, I guess being so tall and so built and stuff comes in use." Kitty answered with a shrug. "What was up with those people that Scott said attacked you back in New York?"

Chris shrugged. "People who were after James. Thomas seems to think that we're all safe here, even James, but I'm not so sure. I mean what's to keep those enemies of his from following us here?"

"Are they dangerous?" Kitty asked. "I mean it's not like they'll fare to well against an entire school of super powered mutants."

Chris shrugged again. "James has never really told us all of his past. For all I know the people coming after him could be mutants too. They didn't seem to shocked when they saw him shift into his metallic form."

Kitty was silent for a bit, but they continued talking after that. Midnight seemed to come quickly for some, but seemed to take its time for others. The party ended nicely, with a countdown, and balloons falling from the ceiling as the clock struck midnight. It was a great party, but everyone was tired, and most went to sleep right after it. There were some that stayed up though. Most of the warriors were wondering what would happen after the weekend. What their new school would be like, and what kind of people they might meet there.

**END**

**Coming Soon… Chapter 8: First Day of School**

**Author's Note:** I bet you can guess what the next chapter is about. Yes, that's right… The Warrior's first day at Bayville High! Where they get to meet people like the Brotherhood! Duncan! And Principal Kelly! Oh, and of course, this should go without saying but… **REVIEW**!!!


	8. First Day of School

**ldypebsaby:** Yes, Jean still goes out with Duncan. But my theory was that Jean only ever went out with Duncan in the first place because she was tired of waiting for Scott to make a move. Scott still isn't making any moves, but Megan isn't waiting for him to. And I could push Duncan off a cliff, but that wouldn't be as fun as oh say… having Nathan kill him, or something that could actually affect the story. Hmm… I think I just had an idea…

**Mark C:** You can rest assured, I do like most cannon relationships, although I wouldn't actually call myself a JOTT fan, I think I might end up keeping Jean and Scott together, but first Jean or Scott have to make some decisions, and act on them, which might, or might not happen.

**Hell Devil:** Yes, I will be doing episodes from the show, but not for a little bit, I have some plot that I want to get going first. I'm not sure if Wanda and Nathan will hit it off or not… okay, I am sure, but I'm not going to tell you, it would ruin the surprise.

**waytoevil:** Well, I guess I'll ruin this one surprise. Yes, Joe and Rogue's powers actually create a sort of genetic vacuum and cancel each other out. So yes, they are immune to each other's touch. But I wasn't going to tell anyone that yet, but you kind have guessed it, so I guess you deserve to have an answer.

**Author's Note:** **Hope you guys like this chapter; it's a little different than all of my other chapters. It's come to my attention that I've kind of neglected and glossed over the girls in the warriors, at least when it comes to giving the readers insight to their personalities. Heck, I don't even think I told you all their powers in this story. So this chapter focuses mainly on Jessica, and her interaction with others during the Warrior's first day at school.**

**Chapter 8: First Day of School**

"What's going on?" Jessica asked as she walked into the infirmary early that Monday morning, only to see Dr. McCoy examining James with his shirt off, and Rebecca not even there.

"I'm giving your brother an examination, it turns out that his heart attack somehow affected his mutation. It's basically… mutated." Beast answered looking over to Jessica for a brief instant.

It was then that Rogue walked into the room, and gave a slight gasp. It was then that she realized that she'd never actually seen James without a long sleeve shirt on, and now she guessed why. He was covered in tattoos from his wrists, all the way up to his neck, and down to his waist. The most prominent one being the word 'King' tattooed on his back on his shoulder blades, the 'I' was even dotted with a small crown.

"What do you mean it's 'mutated'?" Jessica asked curiously. "Has a green a third nostril or something?" She asked coming in between him and Dr. McCoy and staring at her brother's face that was now less than three inches away.

Beast laughed. "No, but he has grown new skin." Beast said as he went over to a medicine cabinet and got some supplies.

"What?" Jessica asked looking to Rogue who remained there, but was keeping silent.

"His skin has become a non magnetic, organo-metalic substance with incredible density." Beast explained, but by the confused look on Jessica's face she didn't understand. "In other words, James' skin has permanently become a kind of metal that basically looks and feels like his skin, but isn't really his skin, and is a lot, lot, harder than his normal skin, it's basically like he's in metallic form all the time, but just looks normal." Beast explained the best way he could.

"It's permanent?" Jessica asked quickly. "And you're stuck like that? What about your one hour limit?"

"His what?" Beast asked looking to Jessica.

"My one hour limit. Before the heart failure I could only stay in metallic form for something close to an hour, we never really timed it, but after that I would start to weaken until I just passed out." James said as he looked to Rogue and then looked back to Dr. McCoy.

"Interesting…" Beast said thoughtfully.

"Jessica, you better be getting off to school soon, did you see the professor yet? He has something for you." James said looking over to his sister.

"Oh, no not yet, I'm going there right after I leave here, I just wanted to come and see how you were." Jessica said as her tail swayed behind her.

"Well I'm fine, but you're going to be late if you don't get a move on." James said with a nod. "You have a good day at school, behave, and listen to Elise, if she says not to do something, don't do it."

"Okay, okay, geez you make it sound like I'm a little child." Jessica said rolling her eyes. "Hey look a Popsicle stick." She said as she picked a tongue depressor up off the floor.

James smacked his forehead, and it was all Rogue could do to keep from laughing, Beast failed at that miserably, he was already laughing. Jessica was just like a child in her mentality, but her intelligence was normal, and her knowledge was normal, she was just always hyper. "James is right. You'd better hurry and see the professor before you leave." Beast said looking to Jessica. "Now Rogue was there something I can help you with?" Beast asked.

"What? Oh, ah… no, I was just wondering if you'd seen Nathan, Logan wants to talk with him." Rogue said, personally a little annoyed that she'd been picked to run the errand for Wolverine.

James smiled. "I can answer that one, he's in his room."

"Ah checked there." Rogue said with a shake of her head. "He wasn't in his room."

"Then he's in the gardens." James said as he got down off the medicine table and put his shirt back on.

"Gardens?" Rogue asked with an element of surprise in her voice.

"Yeah, gardens, he goes there to think or be alone when he wants a change of scenery from his room." James answered. "You'll probably find him there." James said turning to Jessica. "And you, go to the Professor's office and see him before you go to school. Now, or you'll be late."

"Yes sir!" Jessica said with a mock salute as she left, Rogue following close behind her but not heading towards the offices.

**VVVV**

"Professor?" Jessica asked just after knocking on the office door.

"Yes, Jessica, come in." The professor said as she opened the door and came in. Logan was in there too. "I wanted to give you something so that you could go to school with the others today. Kurt wears one too, it's called a holo-watch." Charles said kindly as he pulled out a somewhat-ugly black watch.

"Uh… Thanks…" Jessica said taking it from him gently and putting it on her right wrist. "Um… I guess I'll go to school now." Jessica said with a smile, obviously just thinking that it was a regular watch, and not realizing how to activate the hologram.

"Hold on their kitty-cat." Logan said standing up for a second. "It's more than just a watch."

At first Jessica didn't realize what he meant, she cocked her head a little and looked at it. "It looks like a watch." She said looking back to Xavier. "Didn't you say it was a watch?"

Charles laughed. "Yes, but here… Allow me." Xavier said as he took her hand and depressed the little button on the right side of it. The watch suddenly became a stylish silver watch, and her fur suddenly vanished, replaced by cream colored skin, her short blond hair that was on the top of her head was now red, which was okay with her, but her tail was still there, until she wrapped it around her waist.

"I look… I look…" She started looking down at her outfit. She was wearing Jeans and a sleeveless v-neck t-shirt with a long sleeve t-shirt underneath it. "How do I look?" She asked looking to Logan.

"See for yourself kid." Logan said pointing behind her and to the mirror that stood close by.

She turned and admired herself for a bit, before tackle-hugging the professor. "Thank you!" She squealed. "I'm going to show James after school, but if this watch tells the right time I'm going to be late if I don't leave soon!" She said cheerfully as she ran out the door.

The first thing she wanted to do was show the other girls, but she also wanted to show Kurt, and her brother, and everyone! "Danielle!" Jessica said as she ran to the door where the rest of the girls from the warriors, along with Kitty and Rayne were leaving.

Danielle turned and looked at her puzzled for a moment. "Jessica?" She asked suddenly realizing who this girl was; it took a second for her to recognize the voice. "What happened?" She asked as the other girls stopped and turned around.

"The professor gave me this watch thingy that makes me look like the rest of you when I put it on!" She squealed as she grabbed Danielle's arm and jumped up and down.

"That's great!" Elise said giving her a hug, and so did Grace and Megan.

"Come on! Or we're gonna be late for school!" John yelled from way up the driveway. Apparently all of them were walking to school.

"Coming!" Grace yelled as all of them now started off again.

"Where's Kurt? I wanna show him!" Jessica asked excitedly.

"Probably at school already." Kitty answered. "Scott gave him, Jean, and Rogue a ride."

"Scott drives?" Danielle asked looking over to Kitty.

"Yeah." Megan answered. "He's got a red corvette."

"How'd you know?" Kitty asked looking over to Megan.

"He showed it to me Saturday." Megan answered.

"Oh, I wish the professor had given this to me yesterday, then I could've gone with James and Rebecca to church." Jessica said with a slight frown.

"Don't worry, you can go this Sunday I'm sure, but it's still a little whiles away, so why don't we see if you survive the first day in a new school?" Grace said with a chuckle.

"Well it's not like we have to worry about going through it without making any friends. I mean we're already friends the five of us, and now there's all the people at the institute, like Kitty and Rayne." Elise said with a smile. "Who knows, maybe Jessica will become the most popular girl in school."

Kitty smiled. "Oh, I wanted to ask your advice on this." She said looking over to Elise. "Do you think it's a good idea for me to introduce Chris to my boyfriend?"

"Well he's going to meet him anyway, it's not like it really matters." Elise answered. "Why? You and Chris got something going on?"

"No. No. No. Nothing like that, but I don't know, sometimes Lance can be a little jealous." Kitty said with a shrug.

"Lance?" Megan asked raising a brow.

"Lance is my boyfriend." Kitty explained.

"Well take it from my experience, a little jealous, is always a good thing." Elise said with a wink.

**VVVV**

It wasn't long until they were in the school. Jessica had gotten her locker, it was right next to Mike and Nathan's lockers! Elise had already yelled at her for something, was that ever going to be a memory to remember.

**Flashback**

The girls, Megan, Elise, Grace, Jessica, and Danielle walked arm in arm with Megan and Jessica on the ends, and Rayne and Kitty walking in front of them. Suddenly Elise felt Jessica let go, and turned to see where she was. Her eyes met with Jessica being about six feet away, rubbing some guy's shaggy hair. "Jessica!"

**End Flashback**

Jessica smiled as she sat down in her first class; she had a little while before the bell rung. She looked around a bit. There at the back of the class was Mike, reading a book of course. She was glad that he could come to the school. Apparently the professor had to give him something to, some sort of shield or whatever so that he couldn't pick up other people's thoughts.

Then in walked this girl who looked like she was ready to go to a party, and she acted like it to, putting her feet up on the desk as soon as she sat down. She looked over to Jessica, who smiled politely. "Hi there, my name's Jessica." She said with a nod.

"I'm Tabby." The girl said with a smirk. "You one of those new student's at Xavier's place?"

Jessica shrugged. "Kind of. I think… Why? How do you know about Xavier's? How did you know that it has new students?"

"Lance told me, he thinks this new guy student is trying to take Kitty away from him. They're supposed to fight after school." Tabby answered.

"You know Lance? Kitty's boyfriend?" Jessica asked curiously.

"Yup. Sure hope that guy he's fighting has a decent set of powers, or is a really good fighter, otherwise it won't be much fun to watch to the fight." Tabby answered.

The bell rung, and suddenly a flush of students came through the door. Jessica noticed that Megan, Kitty, and that other girl… Amara, she thought her name was, were also in her first class.

"Good morning students." The teacher began as he began marking the chalkboard.

**VVVV**

Her second class though didn't have anyone she knew in it. She got there early too; there were a bunch of jocks sitting in front of her in red and white jackets. "Hey, Joe likes football, maybe he'll join the team." Jessica said aloud to herself thoughtfully. "Hey how does somebody join the football team anyway?" Jessica asked one of the jocks in front of her.

A brown haired guy answered her arrogantly. "I think a girl like you would be more interested in joining the cheerleading team." He said with a smirk.

"Cheerleading?" Jessica asked curiously. "You mean that thing with jumping up and down and yelling a lot and pom-poms?"

"Uh… Yeah." The guy answered a little confused, his buddies laughed.

"Hmm… Okay, how do you join that?" Jessica asked quirking a brow.

"You have to do tryouts… I think." One of the other football players answered.

"Okay." Jessica said with a nod. "Where are the tryouts?"

"You have to wait until they hold them. If they start looking for new members they'll tell people, and post it on the bulletin board and stuff." One of the other jocks answered.

"Cool! Where's the bulletin board?" Jessica asked curiously.

"Out in the hall." One of them gestured.

"Thank you!" She said happily as the bell rang and the teacher came in.

**VVVV**

School was fun. So far she'd met some pretty interesting people, one guy had given her his phone number, she wasn't exactly sure what for, and all of her classes except her second one had someone she knew in them, but she hadn't seen Kurt yet, and now it was time for lunch. She had her tray, she had her drink, and she even had her food, now she needed a place to sit. Looking around she saw a group of guys sitting with Tabby, the girl she'd met in her first class. Well, one of them was kind of hard to miss, he was huge, and he was like what James might be if he didn't work out, ate lots of doughnuts, and shrunk a few inches.

"Can I sit here?" She asked Tabby as she came up with her tray.

"Hey look it's one of the new X-geeks." A warty little guy said quite loudly. "What do you want?"

"To sit down." Jessica answered innocently.

"Yeah? Fine, go sit down somewhere else." The large guy answered.

Jessica shrugged and started to go away, but Tabby stopped her. "Ignore the rude brothers, you can sit here." She said moving over a bit for Jessica to sit.

"Thanks." Jessica said as she sat down next to Tabby, and across from the warty guy. "You two are brothers?" She asked looking to the small warty guy and the big fat guy.

"What?" The warty guy asked.

"No, this is Toad." Tabby said gesturing the small warty guy. "This is Fred." She said motioning to the fat guy who was on her other side. "This is Lance." She said gesturing to the boy with long hair across from her. "And this is Pietro." She said as she pointed the to white haired boy across from Fred.

"Nice to meet you." Jessica said cheerfully as she started eating her lunch. "So you're Kitty's boyfriend?" She asked looking to Lance.

"Uh… yeah." Lance said looking over to Jessica. "You know that boy Chris? He's a new student at Xavier's right?"

"Yeah, I know him." Jessica answered with a nod.

"What's his mutation?" Pietro asked quickly, as was his style of speaking.

"You guys know about mutants?" Jessica asked raising a brow.

"We are mutants." Tabby said with a smile.

**END**

**Author's Note:** Well, what'd you think of the change in writing style? Usually I go with a broad look on everyone, kind of an omniscient perspective. This time it was just the experiences and thoughts of one person, a big change. Don't worry if you didn't like it, I'll be back to the old writing style next chapter, but every now and then I'll put in one of these from different people's perspectives. Oh, and uh… **REVIEW!!!!!!!!** Please?


	9. After School

**ayu:** Yes Jessica has now officially run into the brotherhood, as you can tell some of the other Warriors already have, like Chris, and it doesn't look like any of them are going to get a long very well with them.

**weirdochelle:** Thank you.

**ldypbsaby:** Well Chris isn't big on fighting, but Lance seems to insist so… you'll just have to read on and find out.

**TheLegendaryManHimself:** Don't worry, Jessica won't become a cheerleader, she was just poking around with the idea because it was given to her.

**Mark C:** Actually I was thinking about writing a separate fic and calling it 'First Day of School' and basically having the chapters of that fic being the warriors first day of school from their different perspectives. Excluding of course James and Rebecca who don't go to school. Do you think that's a good idea? Would anyone here even read it if I wrote it?

**animejunkie1008:** Ha! I have writing powers! I shall now use them to… to… take over the world!!!!!!!!! Oh… no, wait… those aren't very useful for that… I'll just write the next chapter of the story.

**waytoevil:** Heh, sorry if it seems like these updates are taking too long, fact of the matter is I try to update every week, and you don't need to worry about me stopping halfway through.

**jp3711nc:** Michael won't meet Wanda until later when the rest of the X-Men meet her, and his powers won't be having the same problem as Jean's because he's not telekinetic, he only has limited telepathic abilities. But no, I don't think he's going to loose control of his powers, although someone else might.

**Chapter 9: After School**

"You gonna fight him?" Will asked looking over to Chris as he, Chris, and Elise walked down the hall towards the lunchroom.

"No." Chris answered stubbornly. "I'm not even going to show up."

"But he'll think you're a coward." Will countered.

"William Howlett." Elise said as she slapped his arm. "You are not going to try and convince Chris to get into a fight."

"I'm not, I'm just trying to get him to look at the big picture, if he doesn't fight, he has to at least show up and turn down the challenge." Will said looking back to Chris. "What's Kitty doing about this anyway?"

Chris shrugged. "She got ticked at Lance, and then left. I have a feeling she actually likes the attention thinking that two guys are fighting over her."

"You're not fighting over her?" Elise asked for confirmation.

"Not on my part." Chris answered honestly. "I just hung out with her on the weekend for a bit, no flirting, nothing of that kind even, you know me, I'd sooner work up the courage to put my head in the lion's mouth than flirt with a girl or try something." He explained. "I just talked with Kitty cause it was like she was the only one that wanted to listen. I even showed her some of my photography, specifically my shots of London; she was like a little sister or something. Now everything has gotten blown out of proportion and her boyfriend thinks that I got to close to her. Well that's fine, but I'm not going to let him sit there and try and intimidate me and beat me up. I don't fight, it's pure and simple, I don't like violence."

"Well if you were gonna fight him, what form would you do it in?" Will asked. "Normal, half, or full?"

Chris smirked. "Full I suppose, just to scare the crap out of him."

Elise smiled. "Maybe that's what you should do then. Show up in full form maybe he'll be too scared to fight you."

"Maybe…" Chris pondered. "Maybe."

**VVVV**

Danielle and Megan were eating lunch at a table a little bit away from where Jessica was sitting with people that they didn't recognize. "Looks like she made some new friends." Danielle said with a smile.

"Well good for her, I mean if you think about she hasn't really been able to socialize much for years." Megan said with a nod as she ate some of her food.

"What about you? You meat anyone new today?" Danielle asked Megan.

"Well kind of. I met the reason why Jean and Scott aren't actually together, she's dating some football jock called Duncan." Megan said with a smile. "Mike met him too, wasn't that fond of him, that little psychic shield the professor made for him didn't last very long, it faded mid-morning. Mike's fine though, he's just kind of avoiding people as much as he can." Megan said with a slight laugh. "No more than he did in the city though, I guess he's gotten used to it."

Danielle smirked. "Well did you hear about Chris? He met Kitty's boyfriend."

"Yeah I heard. It true that they're supposed to fight after school?" Megan asked curiously.

"Yeah, the boyfriend flew off the handle and basically challenged Chris, but you know Chris, ain't no way he's going to fight." Danielle said with a smile.

"Yeah, I never got why he was so pacifist on everything." Megan said with a shrug.

"Well he didn't use to be, but you remember when he tried that vigilante thing? Trying to catch creeps and stuff? Well turns out he ended up accidentally killing one of them while fighting, or something, knocked them off a roof top and didn't catch them in time, something like that, so now he won't do anything violent." Danielle said before eating some of her meal.

"It's a shame that some people have to learn things through such tragic ways." Megan said with a frown.

"Call it a trend." Danielle said with a shrug. "Anyway, who do you think those people are that Jessica's sitting with?"

"I have no idea." Megan said with a shake of her head. "Probably just some random table she picked knowing her."

Danielle laughed. "Yeah, probably."

**VVVV**

"You guys are mutants?" Jessica asked curiously.

"Duh." The green guy, Toad, said arrogantly.

"What're your powers?" Jessica asked with widening eyes.

"Jessica." Her train of thought was broken by her name being rather harshly spoken by Nathan who now stood next to the table. "Megan and Danielle are right over there, why don't you go sit with them?"

"But I was-."

"Now." Nathan said looking to Jessica, who could barely stand to look at his face, the piercing just looked uncomfortable and he really creeped her out sometimes.

"Alright." Jessica said resignedly, knowing that Nathan had his reasons, probably, and she wanted to say hello to Danielle and Megan anyway.

As soon as she was gone Nathan turned and looked back at the Brotherhood with a glare to kill. "And who are you supposed to be? Her half-brother?" Tabby quipped.

Nathan looked down at his arm and smirked. The half brother comment was kind of funny, Jessica's hologram showed her as being Caucasian, whereas Nathan was half African, half Irish. "I'm not even related to her. I'm just a friend." Nathan said looking up.

"Don't I know you?" Pietro said standing up and getting a closer look at him.

"Sit down Pietro. And leave Jessica alone, leave us all alone." Nathan commanded.

"Hey, we do what we want, when we want, and you just try to stop us." Toad quipped.

Nathan looked to Pietro and smirked. "He one of yours? You need to tell your father that he needs to find better help."

"Hey what's that supposed to mean?!?" Toad yelled.

"It means that if you want me to try and stop you, I will. I'll stop you dead in your tracks." Nathan said gravely. "By the way Quicksilver, tell Eric that your sister says 'hi'." Nathan said before walking away.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, back up. You know him?" Tabby asked looking to quicksilver.

"Knew him is more like it. He was one of the first mutants my dad ever found. I remember he and my dad had this argument, he wanted help with his powers to get rid of them, my dad wanted to use them on people, humans specifically." Pietro explained it all rather quickly as was his style.

"What exactly are his powers?" Lance asked, speaking up for the first time in a while.

"If I remember correctly…. He kills things."

**VVVV**

"You need to stay away from them. They're trouble." Nathan said to Jessica as he came up to where she, Megan, and Danielle were sitting.

"Well you didn't have to be so rude about it to them." Jessica said with a correcting tone in her voice.

"Well sometimes rudeness is the only way to get through to some people." Nathan said with a shrug. "I'll see ya'll later, I'm going to get some homework done with Mike."

"Aren't you going to eat lunch with us?" Jessica asked curiously.

"I don't eat food remember?" Nathan asked with a slight smirk. "Besides, cafeteria food is horrible."

"Oh…" Jessica said a little disappointed.

Nathan made his way out of the cafeteria, and started down the halls, he turned the corner to see Rogue and Joe walking towards him, or more likely the lunchroom. Rogue seemed to pause when she saw him, but he didn't even say hi to them, he had somewhere to be.

"Why is he always so rude like that?" Rogue asked looking to Joe.

"He's not. You just have to get to know him." Joe said with a slight smile. "I heard you two had a tender moment in the garden this morning."

"A what? Ah fell, and he caught me was all." Rogue said defensively.

"Not what I heard." Joe said raising up a hand passively.

"Well you think what you want." Rogue said irritated.

"Oh come on, you know I was just kidding. I would've paid anything though to see it with my own eyes, you fall, Nathan actually does something nice for you by catching you so you don't break your head on the concrete, Wolverine picks that moment to come walking up and clears his throat thinking something else was going on. I mean you have to admit it does sound funny." Joe said with a smile.

"Why don't you think something else was going on?" Rogue asked now slightly offended.

"Cause I know Nathan. And you might walk in to his room naked and he wouldn't even pay it any notice." Joe said with a laugh.

"Why? He isn't…. Is he?" Rogue asked now disappointed if he was.

"What? No. No. I told you, after what happened to his last girlfriend, he promised that he'd never have those feelings again." Joe said. "It's kind of tragic if you think about it. I know Mike wrote a story based on it, or what Nathan told him of it, maybe he'll let you read it later."

"Maybe Ah will." Rogue said with a nod as they made it into the lunch room.

**Lot behind School, 4:00 P.M.**

"Well where is he?" Toad asked hopping over to Lance who stood a bit a way.

"Told you he wasn't coming." Pietro said with a smirk. "Probably too much of a coward."

"I ain't a coward." Chris said as he came up behind Pietro, startling him a little. "I just couldn't make up my mind what to do." He said as he walked closer, and Will, John, and Joe walked in behind him. Scott, Kurt, Rogue, Jean, and Kitty were already on their way to try and break up the fight, but Mike was holding them at bay for a bit, promising them, that there was no way Chris would fight. "Well, it's your challenge, so you make the rules. Powers? Or no Powers?" Chris asked as he stood up.

Lance smirked looking to the rest of the Brotherhood. "Powers." He stated calmly.

"Fine." Chris said with a strong nod. "One second then." He said with a smirk as he stepped back a bit. "Oh, and if blood grosses you out, you might want to look away." Before anyone could say another word Chris' wings began to form under his skin, slowly at first. He fell to the ground; this was the part that hurt the most, going into full form hurt like hell. He clutched the ground and the brotherhood backed up a little not knowing what was happening, but the other Warriors stayed where they were.

Suddenly the two ten-foot bat-like wings shot from his back squirting blood over the ground on onto him, the blood that hit his skin seemed to spread, turning from a red to a gray, and spreading rapidly changing his skin to the same color gray as the outer side of his wings, the inside was a black. His feet and hands became claws, and his teeth were now fangs. Instead of six foot he stood at seven with two red tipped horns atop his head, and his blonde hair turned to a dark, dark green.

He stood now facing the Brotherhood, with wings outstretched as Kitty, Scott and the other X-Men made it to the scene. "Oh my God…" Jean started as the rest were stunned to silence.

Chris now looked like a demon that one would only face in the darkest nightmares of their dreams, something truly and utterly horrible. And suddenly he started to speak. "Ready?" He asked looking to Lance, who was now like a piece of straw compared to him.

"Forget this." Lance said blowing it off. "We have stuff to do."

They watched as the brotherhood left. Chris had a smile on his face. Which wasn't even recognizable as Chris' face. "My only regret is when I think of how much pain it's going to cause to change back, and how exhausted I'm going to be just from doing it."

"You've got to be kidding me." Kitty said coming into the lot. "Since when could you do all of this?"

"I've always been able to do this, it just takes more energy, and hurts a hell of a lot more." Chris answered with a smile. "I can do this too." He said before lifting up his head and breathing out a large tongue of flame. "I didn't just pick the codename 'Dragon' because of the wings." He said with a laugh. "But uh… you're not going to want to see me change back, it's not going to be pretty."

"I can handle it." Kitty said bravely.

Chris looked awkwardly to the guys and then to Scott before looking back at Kitty and Jean. "Okay, but uh… no one will blame you if you avert your eyes." It didn't take very long to change back, but he yelled because of the pain when he did, and Kitty actually ended up throwing up. Jean couldn't even watch, and even Scott admitted to averting his eyes halfway through.

The guys from the Warriors were used to it though, and just gave Chris a new shirt when he was finished changing back, because he had ripped the old one when he had grown the wings. "Man, let's get you back to the institute and cleaned up. Hope the professor doesn't die of a heart attack when he sees all that blood on you." Will said as he helped Joe take John to Scott's car.

"Mike will explain it to him I'm sure. Wouldn't surprise me if Mike's already at the institute explaining everything to Logan and the Professor." Joe said with a nod as they hefted the limp Chris into Scott's car. Changing back from full form took so much out of him that he could barely move afterward, and the extra help was appreciated.

"You think we'll get in trouble?" John asked.

"Nah… I sure hope not." Will said with a smirk.

"We probably will." Joe said with a smile. "You guys go, I'll see to it the girls get home alright."

"Chivalrous of you." Scott commented as he started his car.

Joe smirked. "I know they can get home fine by themselves, truth is all that blood makes me nauseous, and I don't want to throw up in your car." He laughed as he waved goodbye and Scott's convertible took off. "I wonder where Nathan was for all of this…" He mumbled to himself as he and the girls started walking back to the Institute.

**END**

**Author's Note: Well? What'd you think? REVIEW!!!!! Please?**


	10. Girl's Night In

**Author's Note:** So sorry that it took me this long to get this chapter up, what with Christmas and all I was a little distracted. But I'm back, and so are the 13 Warriors. And now to answer to some of your reviews…

**TheLegendaryManHimself:** Thank you! I was really debating what to do about that, and then I just sat down and wrote it, it's cool how sometimes-random stuff that pops in your head can be considered good writing. : )

**Waytoevil: **Sorry this one took so long to add, won't happen again!

**Mark C: **Well it wasn't like they were going to school for the first time. A few of them did have some fun, but it was all from Jessica's point of view, which was why I was thinking about the other fic.

**Hell Devil:** Risty is going to be in this fic, but I wanted to get some other things out of the way before adding her in. If I made my first day at school fic she'd be in there, but if I don't I'll introduce her later in the story.

**ldypebsaby:** That's an interesting question… Where was Nathan? He has that habit of disappearing and doing something interesting while nobody else is there to miss him. Maybe later we'll find out what he does when he drops off the face of the earth.

**Irene:** Thank you! I really am flattered that a criticizer would give me that kind of a compliment. I hope you continue to read, and especially continue to review!

**Ranndie Mazda:** You are indeed right, a mistake purposefully made to see if anyone would catch it! Congratulations! (Okay so it wasn't really, but I promise not to make the mistake again.)

**Chapter 10: Girl's Night In**

Jean had been walking around the institute for some time now, late Tuesday night, trying to find Scott, or anyone for that matter. In fact since she'd got there she hadn't seen hide or hair of any of the guys, any of them. Finally she came across Mike as she was walking through the halls. "Hey, where is everyone?"

"Oh, the guys all went out for what Will called, a guy's night out, meaning they're probably hitting a few clubs and destroying public property, whatever it is they do when the hang out. The girls are all in the living room watching a movie, except for Rebecca who's with James and Mr. McCoy in the danger room." Mike answered with a smile.

"How come you didn't go with the other guys?" Jean asked curiously.

Mike tapped his forehead with his index finger. "I've never gone with them, don't do well in crowded public places, besides, I have a headache."

"Oh, well that's a shame." Jean said as she shifted her weight to the other hip. "Are you going to join the girls then with their movie?"

"Maybe later, right now I'm going to find Mr. Logan." Mike answered with a nod.

"Why are you looking for Logan?" She asked as she raised a brow.

"Professor says that he's got my book for me, a copy of the one he destroyed the other day." Mike said as he began walking again. "I'll see you later." He said with a nod.

"Yeah… See you around." Jean said almost quietly as Mike left and she started walking again. She made it to the living room, to find Jessica squatting on the arm of the couch with her tail wagging, Grace, Elise, Danielle, and Kitty actually sitting on the couch, and Megan sitting on the floor watching the screen. Rogue was there too, in the back of the room reading a book, and Rayne sat on the floor on the other side of the couch from Megan, also watching the movie. "Hey what's going on?"

"Hey Jean, we're watching a movie!" Jessica answered happily.

"Which one?" She asked as she came over and looked at the screen.

"For some reason, we're watching a chick flick that I can't remember the name of." Grace answered shrugging her shoulders.

"Ah… Mind if I join you?" She asked as she sat down next to the couch.

"Go ahead, we're kind of having a girls night in since the guys are all out partying." Grace responded with a smile.

"Yeah, I hope Will goes easy on Scott, Evan, and Kurt, it's their first time." Elise said with a giggle.

"I wonder where he took them." Megan added.

"Probably to that teen dance club over on Main, you know that one we saw on our way into town?" Danielle joined the conversation for the first time.

"Yeah, that looked really cool. I hope they don't get kicked out too soon, it would ruin our girl's night in." Elise said with a smile.

"Well they're with your boyfriend, so I'd give them a few hours before they get tossed out." Danielle said with a smirk.

Elise laughed. "Will has too much fun for his own good sometimes. And what do you mean my boyfriend? I seem to remember yours was plenty of a partier when he felt like it."

"Yeah, whatever happened to Evan? Did he ever write you back?" Grace asked looking over to Danielle.

"No… Not yet… According to my computer he hasn't opened it yet. He probably just started school yesterday, so I don't know if he's had the chance to check his email yet." Danielle answered.

"You have a boyfriend?" Kitty asked looking over to Danielle.

"In all honesty? I don't know." Danielle said with a small smile. "He left a little while ago, just after Christmas actually, something happened, but he wouldn't tell me what, he kissed me goodbye, and then dropped off the face of the earth."

"You don't know where he is?" Jean asked confused.

"No… I think he's in Canada. Mike said that he thought they might have some family up there, so that's probably where he's headed." Danielle said with a shrug.

"What's Mike got to do with it?" Rayne asked now interested.

"He's Evan's younger brother." Danielle explained. "They're past is a little confusing but Evan told me some of it, well, thought it to me."

"Okay, that was kind of confusing." Jean said raising a brow.

Danielle laughed. "Evan doesn't talk." She explained. "He's mute, his vocal cords had a cancerous tumor, and in order to get rid of it the doctors had to remove his vocal cords, so he either uses sign language with me, or projects his thoughts into my head. He's a broadcast telepath."

"The opposite of his brother." Elise added with a small smile.

"Oh… That's such a shame." Kitty said with sympathy in her voice.

"Yeah, well it was a bad thing, but some good came out of it, after all, it's how we met." Danielle said with a smile.

"Hey look, the movie's over." Grace said suddenly, snapping most of them back to the reality that they had been watching a movie.

**VVVV**

"You're going to what?" Rebecca called up to the control room from the danger room floor.

"I'm going to drop it, James, you catch it!" Beast said from over the radio. In the danger room hung a block that weighed roughly five tons, the weight of a car. "You ready?"

James gulped a bit and closed his eyes, standing directly underneath the block. "Yeah, go ahead!" He called out as Beast hit the button and the block dropped. It stopped abruptly into James' opened and outstretched hands. He opened his eyes and looked around a bit. "Huh." He breathed as he set the weight down. "Well I guess my weight lifting career is back after all."

"It's like you're in constant metal form." Beast said as he came through the door. "You're invulnerable, strong, and staminate, just like when you were in metallic form before your heart attack, only this is permanent, and thanks to the new heart, courtesy of Forge, it's not doing your body any real damage that I can tell. It's as if your body evolved in order to handle your mutation."

"Well at least I didn't die." He said looking at his hand and then to Rebecca, and then to Mr. McCoy. "This isn't going to interfere with day to day life will it?"

"Well you might have to learn to control your strength a bit, holding back when you need to, but I think you'll be fine." Beast said with a smile.

"Good. In that case, any chance I could get a doctor's note saying I can take my beautiful girlfriend out for a night on the town?" James asked with a smile as he looked over to Rebecca.

Beast laughed. "Go right ahead." He said with a nod.

James smiled and turned towards Rebecca. "What do you say? Care to go out on the town with me?"

Rebecca smiled as James came up to her. "I'd love to. But you've got to give a girl some warning! Meet me outside in about half an hour, we'll take your car."

James smiled. "Half an hour it is."

**Apartment 27D, Lion's Gate Apartments, New York City, New York 8:03 P.M.**

"Your absolutely sure it was him now?" A young man, early twenties, wearing expensive clothes, and had his brown hair slicked back, standing in front of another man, in his teens.

"I'm sure. It was him, my boys fired a round at him, he went metallic, and all of them just bounced off. Now unless you know another seven-foot giant that can shift into metal like that boy can then I'm betting you it was him. I stood just as close to him then as I am to you know. I'd know him anywhere." The younger man assured him.

"Dustin, I don't want any mistakes here, if he's back then he's dangerous, we need to take care of him quickly, and cleanly. Here, this is a list of… Specialists, that are in this area. You find them, you take them to wherever it is you saw him, you find him, and you make sure he's dead. Call me if you succeed, if you fail, then I'm sure James will kill you for me." The older man said with a slight smile.

"Alright Johnson, don't worry, I know the risk." Dustin said as he took the sheet of paper.

**Elsewhere**

"Well? Did you find out what he was doing there?" Magneto calmly asked the man sitting in front of him.

"Indeed I did." The man answered before a long pause.

"Well?" Magneto asked becoming impatient.

"He was there recruiting them. Thirteen of them went to his school over the winter break, including one man that I'm sure you'll be glad to see again."

"Who?" Magneto asked cautiously.

"Nathaniel." The man answered with a smile.

**Brotherhood Boarding House**

"Yeah, that guy was just trying to intimidate you, his power is probably illusions or something, you should get him when he's unprepared." Tabby said with a smirk as her and Lance came into the living room.

"You talking about that Chris guy again?" Fred asked as he watched T.V. "Get off it man, no one blames you for running, that guy was scary."

"I didn't run away!" Lance yelled as he kicked the remote on the floor into Toad.

"Hey! Watch it!" Toad yelled as he hopped out of the way.

"Calm down Lance, we know, you didn't run away, you just decided to wait until Kitty wasn't there." Tabby said with a smile hiding behind her face.

Fred laughed until Lance glared at him, then he shut up for a bit.

"Seriously man, I don't know what you see in that kitty cat, she's an X-geek." Toad said hopping around a bit.

"Yeah, you're just jealous cause you can't even get a girl to like you." Fred said as he returned his attention to the TV.

"I bet I can get any one of those new girls at Xavier's to go out with me, unlike a certain someone I know." Toad said landing on Fred's stomach and bouncing off again.

"You're on!" Fred yelled as he stood up.

"This is pathetic." Lance said looking to Fred and Todd.

"It almost hurts to watch." Tabby added.

**Xavier's Institute for Gifted Youngsters**

"Where did Nathan go anyway?" Rogue asked coming up to the others on the couch.

"He actually went with Will and them. First time in a long time." Jessica answered.

"How do you know?" Grace asked looking over to Jessica.

"I saw them all leave, Nathan was there trying to convince Mike to go, but Mike said no." She said in her usual cheerful manner.

"Now that's an odd scene to picture." Elise added. "Nathan actually wanting to go somewhere."

"I think he's gotten a little better after he confronted that Pietro guy." Jessica said with a shrug.

"Pietro? From the Brother Hood?" Jean asked a little confused.

"Yup!" Jessica said with a nod. "I was eating lunch with this girl Tabby, and her friends and then Nathan came over and told me to leave, and he was acting all scary and protective so I did, and then he stood there for a little while, and said something to Pietro, I didn't hear what it was, but I don't think it was very nice."

Grace laughed. "Sounds like something he would do."

Megan laughed.

"What's so funny?" Kitty asked looking down at Megan.

"It's funny to picture Nathan telling someone off he's the quiet type, even if he is broody, he wouldn't just unleash at someone that he didn't know." Megan said shaking her head. "Unless he had a really good reason, but I would've paid to see it."

"Maybe he did have a really good reason." Elise offered. "I wonder what it was."

"Same here." Grace said with a nod.

"Should we watch another movie?" Danielle asked looking over to Jean and then to the rest of them.

"Sure." Jean said with a shrug. "What did you have in mind?" She asked as James, all dressed up walked past the door.

"Where's he going?" Jessica asked as she watched him walk past.

"On a date with Rebecca." Mike answered as he came in. "The two of them are going out for a romantic evening for two. At least according to Rebecca."

"You want to watch a movie with us?" Jean asked looking over to Mike.

"Sure… Is there room on the couch?" He asked raising a brow slightly.

"Yup!" Jessica said using her tail to scoot Kitty and Grace over a bit, making room for Mike.

He laughed as he sat down next to Kitty, in between her and Jean, with Elise on the other side of Jean, and Grace on the other side of Kitty, Jessica on the arm, and Rayne and Megan on the floor at either end, they made quite a picture. "Thanks Jess." He said as he winced a bit.

"Headache?" Jean asked carefully.

"A lot of thoughts." Mike said with a small smile.

"Here, this'll help." Jean said kissing him on his forehead, putting up a psychic barrier.

Mike blushed a bit, as they all got comfortable on the couch. "Thanks…" He said a little shyly.

Jean smiled. "No problem." She said as the movie started.

"So what movie are we watching now?" Mike asked as he watched the screen.

"A Walk to Remember." Elise said with a smile.

"Sorry I asked." Mike said with a sigh.

"Hey! That's my favorite movie!" Elise slapped him lightly on the arm.

"I don't mind it, I like the movie, but now I'm going to be drowned in tears instead of thoughts." Mike replied with a smile.


	11. Guy's Night Out

**The Legendary Man Himself:** You're right; Mike is growing on Jean (as well as all the girls I suppose) in that little brother/confidant sort of way. He's the guy to vent to when you have a problem, an always-listening ear with a shoulder that you can cry on. And Lance, well him admitting that he was a coward just didn't ring true in my mind.

**ldypebsaby:** Yes, Nathan went out clubbing, what problems that might cause…

**Mark C:** What if Mike's not around to control his powers by the end of the story?

**Mourning Star Under the Moon:** I'll answer your questions in order. Maybe. I don't know. And no, when Logan does end up touching him, he does get hurt (a lot) but he doesn't die the flesh that burns off grows back. James did find out about his sister being able to look normal, but his reaction isn't shown in this story, it'll be told in another one that I'm writing.

**Milo:** I do apologize that this update has taken a while. Mid terms, that's my excuse this time.

**Chapter 11: Guys Night Out**

"I know he's not here now, but you still need to talk with him Logan." Xavier said as the two traversed through the halls of the lower floors.

"I will. Tomorrow, after school." Logan said with a nod.

"Tonight, when he gets back." Xavier said with a stern look on his face.

Logan sighed. "Fine." He said with a shrug.

Suddenly as Xavier opened the door to the hangar there was a small explosion, blasting Logan back but Xavier shielded himself telekinetically. "What the?"

He got his answer soon enough as a man, a man in his early twenties, leaped out of the room towards the professor. His clothes were rugged, and he was badly hurt, but there was no evidence of damage in the hangar other than what had happened because of some unexplained explosion. No traces of anything to cause an explosion remained, other than one other man, or teenage boy, face down on the floor.

"Are you…" He looked with a raised eyebrow. "It must've worked… Tim! It worked!" He yelled back to the other boy.

The boy on the floor stood up slowly, not looking up at first. When he did the professor saw that he was in his early twenties, but when he saw the professor he quickly seemed to recover, and leapt at him with knife drawn. "AHH!" He screamed but was knocked back by Logan.

"Tim! It's okay! Look at him! He's in a wheelchair!" The man yelled to his partner. To that Xavier took slight offense. What was going on here?

Tim looked over to him and then at Logan. "Oh… Sorry about that."

"What's going on here?" Xavier asked wheeling forward.

"I can explain everything, but uh… get Wolverine off of me." Tim said with a small smile.

"How the hell do you know my name?" Logan asked drawing his claws.

"Logan." Tim said sternly. "I'll explain it, after you put away those… Claws of yours."

Wolverine looked over to Xavier, who nodded, and then withdrew his claws and let Tim stand up.

The man who had been next to Xavier ran over to help his friend up, and then stood by while Tim began to explain. "You see first of all, we're mutants." He began. "My name is Timothy Winter, and this is Mark. We're travelers. We travel from dimension to dimension helping those we can. I'm sorry I attacked you professor, but believe when I say that in the last world I was in, you were truly different than I'm sure you are now. We were in the middle of a mission to stop you from wiping out the last remnant of the X-Men."

"I don't…" Xavier began but Timothy held up a hand to cut him off.

"In the Last world, you'd turned your back on the X-Men, and instead of fleeing when you and Eric had your falling out, you killed him, well… turned him into a vegetable. And it wasn't long until you'd taken over most of the world's governments. Logan here was an underground mutant that wasn't registered with your program. With the Weapon X training his and Victor's minds were the only ones you couldn't penetrate and control. Give or take a few. And so they led a force against you."

"Quite a tale." Logan said gruffly.

"Isn't it though?" Said the other man. "But it's true. If you want I can open another trans-dimensional vortex and show you that it's true."

Logan smirked and looked to the professor.

"That won't be necessary. I believe you." Xavier said, as he turned around a bit.

"Oh yeah, almost forget for a second about your mutation." The other guy said with a smirk.

**Meanwhile**

The club was full; most people were on the dance floor. Scott, Nathan, and Kurt were at the bar drinking their sodas, the rest of the guys, Chris, John, Will, and Evan, were all on the dance floor living it up. John had found some twins that he and Will were dancing with, Evan had been asked to dance by some random girl, and Chris had gone up and asked someone else to dance.

"You friends sure know how to have a good time." Kurt commented to Nathan as he sat down.

"Yeah, well this is more Will's thing than anyone else's." Nathan said with a smirk. "How come you're not out on the dance floor with everyone else?"

"I'm tired." Kurt commented as he hung his head. "Dancing can be tiring."

Scott smirked. "It can't be that bad."

"Why don't you try it Mr. Summers?" Nathan asked looking over to him. "Go ask that girl right there."

"What girl… Oh hey, I know her. That's Taryn from School." Scott said looking back to Nathan.

"All the more reason to go ask her to dance. She looks lonely." Nathan said as he took a sip of his drink.

"Why don't you?" Scott asked, but suddenly realized the stupidity of his question as Nathan turned and gave him a glare that would crack stone.

Kurt smirked. "I'll be right back." He said with a smile as he started off to the bathrooms. But he didn't go to the bathrooms. Instead he ended up next to Taryn.

Seconds later there was a tap on Scott's shoulder. "Would you like to dance?" Taryn asked looking up at him with a smile.

"Uh…" He looked around and saw Kurt waving from the other side of the room where Taryn had been. "Sure." He said with a slight smile. Taryn led him out to the dance floor and they started dancing, although Scott wasn't dancing too well.

Kurt laughed as he came back. "What, you don't think that was funny?" Kurt asked as Nathan turned a bit towards him.

"It was hilarious." Nathan said with a slight smirk that quickly faded. "Now if you'll excuse me." He said getting down from the chair. "I'm going outside to get some fresh air."

A girl came up before he managed to make it to the edge of the bar. "Would you like to?"

"No." Nathan cut her off before she finished her sentence and left.

The girl looked hurt, as if she'd really liked him, despite all his piercing and everything, his gothic outfit. She herself was dressed somewhat like a Goth.

Kurt recognized her. "I'll dance you with Risty." He said giving her a slight smile.

"No. That's okay. Is Rogue here? I saw Scott, but I haven't seen her." The purple haired girl asked with a slight smile.

"No. This is a guys night out type of thing, she's back at the Institute I think." Kurt answered with a shrug.

**Meanwhile**

"Are you sure you can afford this restaurant?" Rebecca asked as she and James entered into it. It was a real fancy place, Italian maybe, but definitely a suit and tie event, however both of them were dressed for it.

"Don't worry about it." James said with a smile. "I do have some money you know."

"That's not what I meant, I just mean… well… look at this place." Rebecca said looking up to the large muscular James.

"I know, but don't worry." He said coming up to the waiter.

"Do you have a reservation?" The butler like guy asked as they came up.

"Yes, under the name King." James said as he looked to the waiter, and Rebecca took his left arm in hers.

"Ah yes, right this way sir." The butler said with an almost knowing smile. He led them to a table in a back room, where no one else was eating, it was fancy, dressed in red table cloth, two tall candles were lit a small thing of roses laid in the center, and a window with beautiful drapes made for a nice background overlooking a park with a lake.

"Wow." Rebecca said as they were seated.

James smiled. "Something wrong?" He asked raising a brow.

"No… It's just… More, than I expected." She said with a slight smile.

**Meanwhile**

Nathan nearly laughed when all of a sudden, out the front door, came Will flying, and the rest of the X-Men and Warriors following shortly after. John helped Will up. "What the hell happened?" Nathan asked coming up to them.

"Turns out I was dancing with some Jock's girl." Will said as he got up and shook himself off. "He's lucky he had his friends there or I would have whipped his but."

Chris laughed. "He was twice your size." He said with a smile. "Come on, where to now, back in the club? To a buffet of some kind? Back to the mansion?" Chris asked.

"I don't think we should go back in the club." John said shaking his head at Will. "And it's still too early to go back to Xavier's, so I say… Buffet. So long as Will can behave himself." He said with a smile.

"Hey, there's no way you can blame what happened in there on me. I had no idea she had a boyfriend, she didn't seem to care that she did." Will said shaking his head.

"There's a good buffet down a few blocks, it's one of the Chinese all you can eat, places." Evan said as he looked to the group.

"We'll head there then." Will said with a smile. "Let's hope they have enough food for all of us." He said with a smile.

**Meanwhile**

Xavier, Logan, and the two 'Travelers' were now walking in the upstairs halls of the mansion. "You two can stay here if you like until you move on. When exactly will you be moving on?"

"Well I figured that we could recoup a little while, find something to help with, and then head on. Usually we come to a dimension just before something happens. Other times nothing at all happens. It's weird. It's random really. But we'll wait and see, and then we'll be out of here by day seven." Timothy answered. "Oh, and incase I forgot to introduce him, this is Maxwell Tripper." He said pointing to the other man that was with him. "He's a good friend of mine from our 'home' dimension."

"I see." Xavier said with a nod. "Well this is your room, please help yourself to the kitchen or any other such thing that you'll be requiring. Let me know though before you leave."

"Will do." Tim said with a smile.

**Meanwhile**

"Rebecca." James said with a smile.

"Yeah?" Rebecca asked curiously, wondering why he'd suddenly seemed to switch the subject of conversation.

"I uh… I have something to ask you." James said with a brief smile.

"What is it?"

"Well, I'm going to feel really stupid and vulnerable asking this so please don't laugh at me." He said with a nod.

"Okay." She said with a smile.

"Well, you know… When I had that heart attack, there was one face that flashed before my eyes… and well… I have something to ask you… Rebecca… Will you marry me?" James was now on one knee on the side of the table, holding aloft a small black box, which was open to reveal a ring with a huge diamond cluster on a silver band with sapphire jewels going around it.

**Meanwhile**

"Look at all this food!" Will exclaimed as he sat down with a huge plate full of nothing but a massive heap of some odd food or another.

"That's why they call it a buffet." Nathan said who was sitting at the end of the table. Unlike the others he didn't have a plate, just a cup of water.

"Don't ruin my fun with your logic!" Will said as he began to scarf down the massive heap. Kurt was right there beside, him, joining him. John was eating his rather properly, small portions, cutting everything, eating it with a fork. Evan was still getting food. Chris had lots of meat, and little or no bread.

"They can cook you fish for you right up there, the way you like it." Chris said as he bit into a large piece of fish. "And the Sushi is good too."

Scott made a face. "Sushi?"

"It's not that bad." Chris said with a smile. "You might be surprised. It kinda tastes like chicken."

"Everything tastes like chicken." Kurt commented.

"Not Macaroni and cheese." Will retorted.

"I don't even want to know how you thought up that comparison." John commented as he ate more of the food on his plate.

"We need to go cause some mayhem, or better yet, find something that needs doing and do something." Chris said with a smile. "Remember the old days when we'd hunt down the gangs and have some fun?"

"Have some fun?" Scott asked raising a brow.

"Me in full form, scaring the living daylights out of them." Chris said with a smile. "The photos are great from New York, I'll show them to you sometime."

**Meanwhile**

Rebecca rushed into the living room, where all the girls, and Mike, were sitting on the couch, and most of the girls were tear filled already, as was Rebecca.

"Rebecca what's wrong?" Elise asked being the first to see her arrival.

"James and I are getting married!" She blurted as soon and as loudly as she could.

"I'm getting a sister!" Jessica yelled and leapt upwards, and forwards, springing over the couch and the people in it and tackle hugging Rebecca.

The girls all rushed from the couch, partially dragging Mike with them, but he stayed behind on the couch. All hugging Rebecca, except for maybe the girls with the X-Men, and rushing off to another room. When all was said and done Mike, Jean, and Rogue were the only ones left. Rayne, Amara, and Kitty had all gone with the others.

"Well I guess that's the end of the movie." Rogue said with a shrug.

"Or we could just watch it." Mike said with a shrug looking over to Jean and Rogue.

Rogue ignored him and just turned it off.

**END**

**Author's Note:** **I hope this was worth the wait! Review! REVIEW! FLAMES WELCOME!**


	12. Forgotten Enemies

**The Legendary Man Himself:** Yeah, I know the intro to them was kind of random, that's partially why this chapter took so long, I kept rewriting it and rewriting, and although I still wasn't happy with the last edition of it I figured I'd better post it and get it over with before I lost any readers.

**flapjack101:** Sorry again that it took so long, and why'd you change your name from weirdochelle?

**ldypebsaby:** Yeah, Timothy Winter and Max 'Mark' Tripper are Original Characters. And yeah, I figured everybody would be disappointed if the guys didn't get into trouble.

**Hell Devil:** Yeah, Risty is here, but she doesn't have a big part yet.

**Mark C:** Yeah, Nathan's being a bit friendlier, but one's got to ask… why is he in such a better mood?

**Author's Note:** I hope you guys enjoy this chapter; it's got major plot rolling.

**Chapter 12: Forgotten Enemies**

"So has anyone seen those two new guys yet?" Chris asked as he, Joe, and John were making breakfast for a few of the others, eggs and toast.

"Nope." Will said coming in along the ceiling. "But the professor said to leave them alone for a bit, they're probably still sleeping."

Joe shrugged. "I'm sure we'll get to meet them before too long."

"Hey." Logan said gruffly coming in through the door. "Have any of you seen Nathan?"

"Nathan?" John repeated. "No, last time I saw him was last night just before he went to bed."

"Well he's not there. Any ideas where I can find him?" Logan asked leaning against the doorway.

"Why you looking for him?" Chris asked curiously.

"I tried to talk to him last night be he ran off, I figured I'd try again." Logan said gruffly. "Now where can I find him?"

"You might try the gardens there big boy." Megan said as she came in through the door past Logan. "He's gone there like, everyday."

"Thanks." Logan said before he left.

**Meanwhile**

Nathan stood on a small piece of the patio over looking the gardens. Winter snow covered the ground, nothing was in bloom, and most things were dead and lifeless. "What do you want?" He asked turning slightly to look over his shoulder at Logan who was standing a ways behind him.

"Well the professor wanted me to try and talk to you." Logan said a bit gruffly.

"So go ahead." Nathan said turning his head back to the gardens.

"Well, the professor tells me that we've been through some of the same experiences." Logan began.

"And what would those be?" Nathan asked somewhat sarcastically.

"Murder." Logan answered bluntly. "You've killed people before?"

"Mother, girlfriend, a few classmates, a senator, and a dog." Nathan answered just as bluntly, giving the list of all the people that he'd come in contact with since his mutation had manifested.

"Senator?" Logan asked his eyes widening ever so slightly before quickly returning back to normal.

"Long story." Nathan responded.

Logan paused. "Well the professor tells me that you're looking for your father."

"Yeah, that's no secret." Nathan said turning to glance at him.

"What do you want to happen when you find him? What do you want to do?" Logan asked trying his best to just make conversation so that he could tell the professor that he'd talked to him.

"What do I want to do when I find him?" Nathan asked raising a brow. "I want to hug him, and give him a kiss goodbye."

"You mean you want to kill him." Logan summarized.

"He's the one that gave me this curse, he's the one that deserves this curse." Nathan answered.

"You know that he didn't choose to give you your mutation, he had less control over the matter than you did." Logan rebutted.

"Wrong. He decided to have me, he decided to leave, and he decided the past." Nathan argued.

"And who's going to decide the future?" Logan asked.

"With any luck I won't have a future to decide." Nathan said with a smirk.

"You mean you want to die?" Logan asked a little loudly.

"Only reason I'm still here is to find my father. Once that's done, I won't have a reason to stick around." Nathan said coolly.

Logan had no idea how to respond, but stood there for a second, trying to think of something.

**Meanwhile**

"What do you think they're talking about?" Rogue asked Kitty as she looked out the window down on Logan and Nathan on the patio outside.

"I don't know, does Nathan even talk?" She asked curiously.

"Sometimes." Rogue shrugged.

"I bet you want him to talk to you don't you?" Kitty asked with a smirk.

Rogue looked away. "Joe already warned me about that." She said looking back out the window.

"That's only because Joe wants you for himself." Kitty argued.

"He looks at me like a sister." Rogue explained. "Besides, I can't-"

"Neither can he." Kitty cut her off.

**That Day at School**

"Leave me alone!" A distressed Jessica yelled running away from a slimy, wart-covered teen that kept hopping after her.

"Come on baby." Toad pleaded. "Just one kiss."

Jessica kept running away but Todd kept following her that was until Jessica ran into a large brick wall er… I mean a large muscular guy, wearing jeans and a T-shirt. "James!" She exclaimed, happy both for the rescue and to see her brother.

"Come on, just one kiss!" Toad yelled coming around the corner, but stopping dead when he saw Jessica embracing James. Quite suddenly he found himself held in the air by his throat and slammed up against the lockers before he could even breathe.

"What did you just ask my sister for?" The large man asked looking at him. "I know you didn't just ask her for what I think you just asked her for."

"No, no." Toad started. "I was uh… asking her for her English notes. That's all." Todd said, quite evidently scared.

James looked over to Jessica, who giggled, and then released him, letting him slump to the floor. "That's what I thought." He said standing up straight. "Oh, and you might want to find a change of pants."

The two started towards Jessica's next class. "What are you doing here?" Jessica asked looking up at him.

"Well, I'm getting my life on track." James said with a smile. "I'm here to look into some night classes. I want to finish high school."

"Hooray!" Jessica said jumping up with a clap.

"Calm down there sparky." James said with a smile. "And get to class, tell the others I said hello, I've got to go visit Principle Kelly."

"Okay, come find me when you're done!" She said cheerfully.

Unknown to either of them two guys had followed James ever since he'd left the mansion. "She the one?" The one asked another.

"She's got to be." The other one answered. "Either his girlfriend, or that sister that he used to mention."

"Only one way to find out." The one said with a smirk. "Excuse me!" He called walking up to Jessica as she began to exit the one wing of the school to walk to another.

"Yeah?" She asked curiously as she turned around.

Wham, two fists met her face and out she went, unsuspecting. The two took her out the door into a waiting car. "You think Johnson will be pleased?" The one asked.

"I'm sure he will be. Now let's find two more. Back at that mansion that he came from." The other one said.

"You sure we need two more?" The one asked.

"Johnson said to get three, so three hostages it is." The other one answered with a smile.

**Meanwhile**

"Help!" Mike yelled as he came around the corner, scrambling as he dropped his books behind him and took off down the hall. Jean, Rogue, and Elise looked over as close behind him; the entirety of the Bayville high football team came running after him. With yells like, "Get him!" and other such things as they ran. "Look out!" Mike yelled as Nathan came out of the men's room door.

Taking a glance back to the football players coming after him he first thought to stand his ground, but as they got closer he changed his mind. Both he and Mike were running full speed. Both of them were scrawny, and no match for football players if they were caught. Though several would drop dead if they punched Nathan in the face.

"What's going on?" Jean asked stopping Duncan as he ran past with the rest of the guys.

"That punk was caught flirting with Jim's girlfriend." He answered hotheadedly.

"What?" Jean asked.

"He was helping her pick up her books and was smiling at her. Jim didn't take to well to that." He answered with a slight smile.

"So your telling me that the girl dropped her books, and since 'Jim' didn't pick them up, Mike decided to help her out, and for that now he's being chased by the football team?" Jean asked raising a brow and putting a hand on her hip.

"Well sure it sounds bad when you say it like that." Duncan argued.

"You know? These jocks are really stupid." Mike called out coming around the same corner he had a moment before. "Lead them in a circle, and they still follow… crap." He said stopping in front of Duncan.

Duncan went to grab him but Jean got in the way, that was until the rest of the football team were seen running around the corner.

Mike and Nathan took off again, Nathan in the lead. "No running in the halls!" Principal Kelly yelled out as he came out of his office and into the hall. The football team stopped, but Nathan was past him already, and Mike kept running towards him, sliding under and between his legs at the last second as he kept running. "Halt!" He cried, but neither Nathan nor Mike listened, so instead he returned his attention to the football team. "My office." He said looking at Duncan. "Now."

**Meanwhile**

Fred walked past lance and boom-boom with a large red smack mark across his face. "What happened?" Tabitha asked curiously.

"I tried to kiss one of those new X-geeks, but she turned out to be some karate expert or something." Fred answered dis-heartedly.

"She kicked your butt huh?" Lance asked with a smirk.

"No, she left a mark though." He said sounding a little down.

"Poor teddy. Maybe you should try asking a girl out and buy her dinner before you try giving her a kiss." Tabby said with a smile.

**Meanwhile**

Rebecca sat playing chess with Hank in the library, the professor and Logan were talking in his office, Ororo was in the danger room, and the kids were all at school.

Suddenly a large bang went above the heads, and the sound of a fight, until everything went silent again.

"What the?" Rebecca asked looking up.

"Only other people here are those two travelers." Hank said getting up. By the time they got upstairs no one was there, just a note.

"Better call the professor." Hank said looking to Rebecca as he picked up the note.

Hank, Rebecca, Logan, Ororo, and Charles sat in the study as Xavier read the note. "Call James." Was his answer. "He needs to know. Don't tell the students yet. We'll tell the X-Men only if we have to."

James was there within half an hour, and came in looking rushed. "What happened?" He asked thinking something drastically wrong.

The professor merely handed him the note, and let him read it.

The note read fairly simply: "Guess I finally got to meet this mysterious sister of yours. We've got her and two of the guys from that mansion you're living in. You want to see them ever again? Come to the docks, warehouse 5, by tonight. We'll kill one of them for each hour you're late. You know how it works, come alone, all that fun stuff. TTYL, Johnson."

James hung his head when he finished. "We'll assemble the X-Men." Charles said with a nod.

"No." James shook his head. "This is personal. I'll take care of it."

"You'll tell the others won't you? The warriors at least?" Rebecca asked looking up at him.

"No. Kurt maybe, he's grown close to her, he needs to know if she's in trouble, but this is personal." James said shaking his head.

The professor nodded. "I take it you know this Johnson then?" He asked.

"It's a long story." James started. "But to make it short, I used to work for him, he runs an all mutant street gang in Chicago, or at least he used to. They've been hunting me for a while. I thought I ditched them in Chicago, I faked my own death, but we ran into Dustin just before coming here, he's the one that threatened Robaldi." James explained.

"So he knows that you're a mutant?" Hank asked concerned.

"Yeah, but he doesn't know about the new developments." James said with a smirk. "Rebecca?" He said looking over to her.

"You don't have to ask, of course I'm coming." She said grabbing her jacket off the couch.

"No." James said sternly. "Stay here, I want you tell Chris to meet me at the wharf. Knowing Johnson he's holding them out on a boat in the sea, I'll need wings there to fly over and get them out of there."

"I'm not sure-" The professor started.

"Professor?" James cut him off. "Look, thanks, but this is my sister, as far as I'm concerned, you've got nothing to do with this. Jessica's and Rebecca are the only people I've got left in this world, and I'd rather die than lose either of them."

"I understand but…"

"No." James said putting on his jacket. "You don't."

"I'm coming with you." Rebecca said putting on her jacket.

James knew it would only waste time trying to argue. "Fine. Logan? Tell Chris to meet me there."

"At least let the X-Men help you." The professor pleaded.

"Note says to come alone." James responded. "Only reason I wanted to bring Chris was cause his wings would come in handy and he wouldn't be seen with me. Rebecca's coming because she's stubborn, but she'll stay out of sight." He paused. "Tell you what." He said turning to the professor. "You give me ten minutes after getting into that ware-house, and then you do whatever you want, alert the authorities, bring in the X-Men, whatever. But be warned, it's more than likely an all mutant gang, and though they're powerful, they're not going to last more than ten minutes with me."

"You think pretty highly of yourself don't you?" Ororo asked as she raised a brow.

"Not really, but I know them, and they're weaknesses." James answered.

"And them yours." Hank responded.

"I have weaknesses?" James asked as he held the door open for Rebecca, and followed her out of it, winking goodbye to the rest.


	13. Forgotten Hatred

**Mark C:** Yes, James' past has come back to haunt him, but will it be for the last time?

**ldypebsaby:** Far, far, too many things are wrong with this world. That's why there's fan fiction.

**flapjack101:** Thanks.

**Ranndie Mazda:** Ah, suspense, gotta love it.

**Author's Note:** I hope you guys like this chapter; the Warriors get a little field day with the X-Men!

**Chapter 13: Rest in Peace**

Jessica awoke to find herself in a small room, her hands and feet tied with rope, a large cloth covered object to her left, and two men were tied up with her to her right. She didn't recognize either of them. A door was directly in front of her and the only light in the room came from a small window next to the door. As she sat up she realized something was wrong, the room was moving, rocking more like it. Where was she? A boat? "Hello?" She asked the air, cause the other two seemed asleep or unconscious.

"Bout time you woke up." One of them said opening up his eyes. "I'm guessing you're from Xavier's. I recognize the holo-watch."

"Who are you?" Jessica asked raising a brow and realizing for the first time that her holo watch was still on.

"Name's Max Tripper, this here is Timothy Winter." He said nodding with his head the unconscious man next to him.

"Where are we?" She asked curiously.

"A boat it seems." Max answered. "Not sure though, nobody's been in or out since I woke up."

"Why'd they kidnap us?" Jessica kept asking questions.

"I don't know. Maybe an anti-mutant thing, maybe a personal thing, I have no idea." He said with a shrug.

Tim started to wake up and shook his head. "Tell me later, we've got to get out of here." He said struggling a bit. But he never really got the chance to do anything, the door opened.

"Good. You're finally awake." Said a guy about Jessica's age as he came in. "Sorry about the poor accommodations, the Ritz was booked." He said with a slight smile.

"Who are you?" Jessica asked looking right up at him.

"Ah, where are my manners. I'm an old friend of your brother's it seems. Zachary Johnson." He said smiling. "And you're going to help me."

"Wow that is lame." Max said laughing. "You need to work on your whole 'I'm the evil bad guy out for revenge and you're going to help me act.' Really, you do."

The man just smiled ever so slightly. "Oh, don't mistake me, you're not going to do anything but sit here, nice, quiet, tied up, and locked in."

"What do you want with my brother?" Jessica asked now a little angry, but even more curious. "He's not going to help you with anything."

"This isn't about getting him to help me." The man said with a smile. "This is about punishment."

Jessica raised a brow but he went on to explain. "You see this little thing here?" He asked pulling out and showing a button on a long cylinder. "I push this, this boat blows sky high. You're brother won't risk it, so he'll do what I tell him, thinking I'll let you go, and then I kill you anyway."

"Stinks to be us huh?" Max quipped.

The man smiled. "I guess it does. Have a nice day." He said with a smile as he closed the door behind him and left.

**MEANWHILE**

Joe, Chris, John, Nathan, Mike, and Will were all standing in the living room, pacing back and forth except for Nathan and Mike. Will was pacing on the ceiling. Mike and Nathan were sitting on a windowsill, Nathan reading something that Mike had written, an essay or a story or something. Chris and John were pacing along the floor. And Joe was sitting on the floor by the couch, where all the girls were sitting. Danielle, Grace, Elise, and Megan were sitting on the couch. No one really noticed that three of them were missing.

"Why'd the professor call us all here?" Chris asked.

"I dunno." Grace said with a shrug.

"Maybe Will broke a rule or something." John said with a smile.

"Why does it have to be me?" He asked seriously.

Everyone just looked at him, and he shrugged. "Okay, well if I did I didn't mean to."

"Maybe it has nothing to do with us." Megan guessed.

"Maybe it does." Elise added. "Who cares? I doubt it's anything really serious."

"It's quite serious." The professor said as he wheeled into the room. "Logan, Hank, Storm, Rogue, Cyclops, Spike, Shadowcat, and Jean Grey are all in the hangar waiting for me, so I'm going to be very brief about this." He began. "It seems that someone James knows has kidnapped Jessica, and the Travelers earlier today. James and Rebecca have already left to take care of it, but the X-Men are going as well. I want you all to remain calm, and stay here."

"Uh huh. I want a million bucks but that ain't happening either." Danielle said with a smirk.

"We can't take all of you along so you'll have to stay here." The professor started to explain.

"We're a team, we work as a team, we succeed as a team, and we fail as a team." John started. "If one of our teammates has been kidnapped, you better believe we're going after them."

"We don't." The professor didn't get to finish.

Joe stood up. "Grace, John, Will, Chris, and I are the only ones that need to go, the rest of our field team is already there. Nathan, Mike, Danielle, Elise, and Megan can stay here." He explained. "And we're going. We'll meet you in the hangar in ten, we've got to change."

**MEANWHILE**

"This is the place?" Rebecca asked looking over to James.

"Yup." James said with a nod. "Give me five minutes, and then head over and see what's going on. Be careful, they don't need more hostages, and Johnson won't hesitate to just kill you."

"Good luck." Rebecca offered weakly as she kissed him on the cheek.

"I'll need it." He said with a brief smile.

The warehouse stood on a dock by the ocean, the whole street was nothing but docks and warehouses, and most of them were abandoned. He could see a boat a long, long ways off in the water, he'd need the X-Jet or something to get out there, but there was also a smaller speedboat next to the docks by the warehouse.

He opened the door, leaving Rebecca a few blocks away, and entered inside. All the lights were on, and Johnson sat waiting for him. "Thanks for coming." Johnson said in an obviously mocking voice. "You're taller than I remember."

James smirked as he stepped forward. "Yeah? Well I was sixteen last time you saw me."

"Stop right there." Johnson said holding up a small device. "There's a boat about a mile out on the water. You step any closer, and that boat, with your sister and friends, gets blown sky high."

"Quit the bull, what do you want?" James asked as several more people came into the warehouse three were guys, two were girls.

"Three million dollars vanished the same day that you 'died' my friend. What I want is really quite simple. I want what you took from me." Johnson replied.

"I didn't take a bloody thing from you and you know it." James said shaking his head.

"Yeah, I thought you'd say that. Okay, open fire." He said looking to the five that had come in.

Quite suddenly bullets came flying from all over the place, behind, in front, to the sides. James smirked as the ones that hit him left him unharmed, and he simply moved forward, stopping when Johnson raised his hand with the detonator in it.

"It seems you've got a new trick. You didn't even have to touch your rings." Johnson said, slightly impressed, slightly afraid. "Plan B." Quite suddenly Johnson launched himself towards James with superhuman attributes. He landed his feet in James' chest and launched him backwards through the door that he had come through and out onto the docks. Johnson landed gracefully on his feet while James recovered and shook off the daze.

James just smirked. "Well that had even less affect than the bullets. At least they stung." He said coming forward again, but he never got to move beyond that. Chains, quite heavy ones, were suddenly wrapped around him, and were bolted to the warehouse itself. James went to break them, but he couldn't, and he had no idea why. Usually metal like that could be broken in his teeth, or in between his fingers. "What the?"

"Adanantium lining my friend made especially for you. What a job Tempest can do huh?" Johnson asked coming forward. "Now, if you'll look to your left."

**MEANWHILE**

"If… Only… I… could… reach… my… utility… belt…" Timothy said straining.

"Oh my God you did not just use that stupid joke." Max said. "I'd slap you if my hands were free."

"Well I can't reach the tech, so unless you stop hating my jokes and help, we're screwed." Tim said still straining a bit.

"Um… Guys… What's under here?" Jessica asked.

They both looked at her, she was up, standing next to the large thing covered with a cloth, and her ropes were on the ground in shreds. "How the heck?"

"Oh, I have talons on my fingers and toes, I just got tired of sitting so I decided to stand up for a while." She said innocently.

"Help us then!" Tim yelled at her.

She looked taken aback for a bit. "Well if you're going to act like that then I don't think I will." She said turning up her nose.

"He was kidding!" Max yelled. "Now untie us!"

"Fine, fine, calm down." She said crouching next to them and cutting off their ropes.

"What was under there anyway?" Max asked as he stood up.

"A clock. But it was counting the wrong way." She said with a smile.

"What do you mean 'counting the wrong way'?" Tim asked as he raised a brow and rubbed his wrist.

"It was counting down instead up. And it was going really fast. First it said that it was 1:10, and then it said that it was 1:09, just like that, really quickly." She said innocently.

Max rushed over to it and pulled back the cloth. "Tim!" He yelled. "Get your but over here, it's not a friendly clock!"

"Now's not the time for jokes." Tim said standing up.

"It's a bomb you idiot! We're tiny bits in about thirty seconds!"

**MEANWHILE**

Logan and Ororo were in the pilot's seats of the X-Jet, it was landed on a building roof. Rebecca had joined them, Chris had his wings out and was ready to go, Joe sat back waiting a bit, and the rest were listening to Rebecca as she told them to wait.

"Hey, there he is." Logan said as he saw James come out of the warehouse backwards. "It doesn't look to good." He said looking back to Rebecca. "We're going down there, now!"

The whole team was assembled and out there in less than a little bit. Wolverine and Hank were the first ones on the warehouse roof. "It looks like that young man is taunting him." Hank said looking down from the roof at Johnson who was talking to James who was chained and against the outside wall of the warehouse with his feet upon the docks.

"He's chained up, the chains are loose though, and they tie in here at the roof." Wolverine observed.

"Why hasn't he broken them?" Hank asked.

Wolverine sniffed, and then gave a low growl. "He can't, they're adanantium."

Suddenly, a red blast of light came through the air and blasted Johnson in the side, knocking him down in the process. Cyclops, Rebecca, Jean Grey, and Chris all ran up to James who was still standing there, laden in chains.

"Idiots!" James yelled. "Get out of here now! There's a whole league of gumen inside! He's got a detonater! Chris! Jessica's in the boat out on the water, about a mile from shore!" He yelled as they began to back up a bit.

Chris nodded. "All flyers to me! Storm, Jean, meet me in the air! Joe get to Wolverine, there's gunmen in the warehouse, you and him are going to have some fun!" He yelled into the communicator as he flew up into the air. Jean and Ororo meeting him as he did.

Johnson got back up slowly with a smile on his face. Chris, Jean, and Ororo were already over the water, flying as fast as they could towards the boat, but they were too late. Suddenly the boat blew up, stuff flying everywhere. Ororo turned the winds so that nothing came near her. Jean shielded herself telekinetically, and Chris began to fall towards the water as he wrapped his wings about him to protect himself, but even so a small piece of metal flew by and took a good cut through his leg.

James watched as the pummel of smoke rose from what had once been the boat, knowing that no one on there could have possibly survived that blast.

"NOOOOO!" He yelled as tears came from his eyes.

The warriors and the X-men stood in shock, looking towards the boat. The chains around James were pulled taunt, and as he screamed he pulled on them taking the warehouse with him, the whole front wall was ripped off, and flung over his head, directly onto Johnson who stood in front of him, destroying the dock that both of them stood on. James fell into the water, but was quickly pulled out by Jean and put on the shore. Chris was bleeding from his leg and in the x-jet. Tears came from all of the X-men and Warriors as they stood watching what little remained of the boat sink into the waters.

"Rest in peace." Joe whispered looking out towards the docks and the ocean as the warehouse collapsed and Ororo landed back on the shore.

**Author's note: I know it was a little shorter than normal, but what do you think? REVIEW! FLAMES WELCOME!**


	14. Four Funerals

**Quillan: **Thanks, for the compliment! Jessica, James' sister, and the two reality hoppers died in the last chapter, sorry if that was unclear.

**TheLegendaryManHimself:** Yeah, she might've been a bit too naive, but I wanted her last moments to be humorous.

**Mark C:** They might not be dead, but even if they're not, I don't think they'll be returning to this story.

**Ranndie Mazda:** Thank you.

**Author's Note:** Yes. Jessica and the Reality hopping guys were really killed in the last chapter. Or… were they? They will not however be returning to this story, but they will now continue a story of their own, look for it, my sister (who Jessica is based off of) is helping me write it, so you know it'll be a good read!

**Chapter 14: Four Funerals**

"Has he come out yet?"

"Not since we got back yesterday."

"Have you talked to him?"

"Yeah, I've brought him food and everything, it's really kind of odd."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, he won't talk to anyone, but he's not sad."

"That made even less sense."

Rebecca and Elise stood outside James' bedroom door talking in hushed tones. The rest of the students were out and about somewhere. Chris was probably still in the infirmary, trying to get his leg to heal.

"I don't know." Rebecca said with a shrug. "He's not sad at all, doesn't seemed depressed, or even upset, he just… he doesn't want to face anyone until the funeral."

"Odd." Elise said shaking her head.

"Well let him deal with it in his own way. I'm sure he'll be better after the funeral." Rebecca said as she leaned herself up against the wall.

"When is that anyway?" Elise asked.

"Tomorrow morning. The professor is burying three empty caskets, one for Jessica, two for the travelers. Thomas and a few of the others are flying in from the City to be here, so that'll be nice." Rebecca said with a faint smile.

"What about their parents?" Elise asked sitting down against the wall, across the hallway from Rebecca.

"He refuses to call them." Rebecca answered with a shrug. "Though I wouldn't be surprised if the professor went ahead and did it anyway."

"I can't imagine the professor doing that. James has his reasons I'm sure." Elise said almost defensively.

"Yeah. I just wish he'd let me know what they are." Rebecca said with a frown.

"I just feel bad for Kurt." Elise said shaking her head.

"For Kurt?" Rebecca asked looking up.

"Yeah. He and Jessica were kind of close. Jessica adored him." Elise said with a slight frown.

"I wonder how he's handling this…"

**MEANWHILE**

"Hank said that you wanted to talk to me?" Professor Xavier asked as Chris hobbled into his office.

A bandage made up most of his lower leg, though luckily nothing had been broken. "Yeah." He said a bit weakly as he sat down. "You see um… Well… With Jessica and everything, it's… I know it's not my fault. But to be honest I feel responsible." He blurted. "I could've been out there much faster, but I hesitated, and that cost Jessica her life."

"You can't beat yourself up over this Christian." The professor said calmly. "It was not your fault that Jessica died. You know that."

"Even so, some of that responsibility is mine." Chris said looking determined. "There's something else too. I got this letter, the other week, but I never did anything about it or mentioned it to anyone." He said pulling out a piece of paper. "It came just after we arrived, but I didn't think anything of it."

"What is it?" The professor asked curiously.

"It's my Uncle." Chris started. "My uh… last surviving relative, this letter said that he was sick, fell ill about three weeks ago or so it says."

"I'm sorry." The professor said. "I know that combined this must be hard for you, but you must not try to let it get you down."

"Yeah, well… I didn't think much of it until this came." Chris said as he held up a second letter.

"A letter from your Uncle?" The professor asked curiously.

"No. A letter from his lawyer." Chris answered. "My Uncle died three days ago. This was here waiting for me when I got back from the mission with Jessica, Hank just gave it to me now."

The professor nodded his sympathy as he folded his hands across his lap.

"I have to go to Kansas. Get my Uncle's affairs in order; make sure everything is okay down there. Some of his stuff… it's the last bits and pieces of what was my family… I have to go." Chris said looking up for the first time during this conversation. Bits of tears were in his eyes, but he was trying his hardest to hold them back.

"I understand." The professor said with a nod. "I'm sure the others will also."

"Well… Can you tell them? I plan to leave tomorrow, after the service, and I'm not sure when… or even if, I'll be back." Chris said with a disheartened smile.

"Well I am sad to hear that." The professor said wheeling out from behind his desk. "But yes, I will tell the others if that's what you want."

"Thanks." Chris said standing up. "But don't tell them until after I leave? I don't want to say any goodbyes. Especially too Kitty."

"Yes you two seem to have become quite attached recently." The professor said looking to Chris.

"She's like the little sister I never had. I'll call once I get things settled a bit." He said with a nod.

"Of course. I look forward to it." The professor said with a smile.

"Thanks Professor." Chris said with a small smile in return.

**Meanwhile**

"Are you two still going to get married?" Danielle asked coming up to where Rebecca and Elise were whispering in the hall.

"Yeah. He assured me that what happened to Jessica didn't change the way he felt about me. If anything it reassured it." Rebecca said with a faint smile. "I'm worried though."

"What about?" Elise asked.

"I think the only reason he wants to marry me is because he's afraid that he'll die before he gets the chance. You know, because of his heart attack?" Rebecca responded.

"No, that's not why he wants to marry you. That's just what opened his eyes to make him realize that he wanted to marry you." Danielle reassured. "Think about it, if you were to have a heart attack you would sure prioritize the things in your life. Maybe his heart attack made him realize that you were more important to him than he thought."

"Is that a good thing?" Rebecca asked raising a brow a bit. "Doesn't that mean that he didn't think that I was important to him before his heart attack?"

"You're reaping too much into it." Elise defended. "He loves you." She said with a smile. "Just ask him."

"I think it's romantic." Danielle added.

"It is romantic." Elise added.

"Right now I think being romantic is the farthest thing on his mind." Rebecca said looking towards the closed door that led to James' room.

"What do you think is on the top of his mind then?" Elise asked.

"Revenge."

**VVVVV**

The whole attitude of the Xavier Mansion had gone from party to graveyard overnight almost. The only one seemingly not affected was Nathan, and maybe Rogue. Everyone seemed quieter, as if afraid to break the silence. Only Logan saw the backpack that Chris had packed. Most of the students just did their homework after school that Friday. The Television never even got turned on.

Saturday morning rolled around slowly, at nine there was a ring at the door. Jean answered it to see Thomas standing there he was followed by two men, two girls, and a boy that looked roughly Jean's age.

Thomas smiled slightly. "Professor." He said seeing the Professor awaiting them in the foyer. "This is Katashi, George, Amanda, Quinn, and Peter." Thomas said making the introductions. "Everyone, this is Professor Charles Xavier."

"It's nice to meet you all." The professor said with a nod. "Mostly everyone is at the cemetery waiting for us, except for myself, Jean, Ororo, and Hank." The professor said looking towards Thomas. "Might I suggest that you follow us in your car?"

"Sure thing." Thomas said with a nod. "George you follow me, I'll follow the Professor here."

**VVVV**

They arrived at the cemetery to see that a large crowd, or what looked like a large crowd, was gathered around three empty graves. Two were mostly undecorated but the third one had many flowers and bouquets surrounding it and on top of the casket. The Warriors, the X-Men, everyone was there. James stood there holding a large stuffed animal, a lion it looked like.

A minister was there as well, to go through all of the actual traditional things. By the time it was over everyone was in tears. Even James had a few spreading down his cheek. At the end in saying their final goodbyes James went last, and took the longest. Laying the lion atop the casket. Jessica's favorite stuffed animal. He had won it for her years ago at a carnival. Way back when they used to live in Chicago, just after leaving home.

Not a word was spoken from the cemetery back to the Mansion. Except for between Thomas and James. The two stayed at the graves while the others went back to the cars, and no one really knew what they talked about. But once everyone was in the cars Thomas and crew were headed back to New York, and it was just the Warriors and the X-Men at the Mansion once again.

Kitty was the first to disturb the silence. "Hey… Has anyone seen Chris?"

"I thought he was riding with Rebecca." Will said looking over towards James and Rebecca who were sitting in the living room with their arms around each other.

Rebecca shook her head. "I thought he went with the professor."

The professor broke in. "I'm afraid Chris has left. He's not sure if he'll be coming back."

"What?" Mike yelled as he stood up. "When did this happen?"

"He told me yesterday. He's had some recent family deaths that he's looking into." The professor said with a slight nod. "He'll call once he gets everything settled."

"When will that be?" Kitty asked looking over to the Professor.

"I don't know." The professor said honestly.

"That bites." Evan said shaking his head.

"He's allowed to do what he wants." James broke in. Everyone turned and stared at him at almost the exact same time. It was like this had been the first time he'd spoken since Jessica's death. Actually… it had been the first time anyone but Rebecca had heard him speak since Jessica's death. "Well, I mean with everything that's going on… plus he has his own family to worry about, we've got no right being angry with him for leaving." James said with a nod. "And Kurt."

This was the first time anyone had really noticed Kurt. He'd been staying in the background. Away from James as best as he could, or so it seemed. He partially felt a guilty about it all. He should've tried to teleport to the boat, but he didn't, and now Jessica was dead. But James broke his train of thought.

"She liked you man. She would've dated you if you'd asked." James said solemnly.

Kurt blushed ever so slightly. Under normal circumstances laughter might have been used here, but no one seemed to be able to accomplish that feat.

**Brotherhood Boarding House**

"How many did you get?" Toad asked hopping into the living room.

"Uh…" Fred panicked. "Four!" He said holding up a hand with four fingers prominently displayed.

Tabby busted out in laughter.

"Oh yeah, well I got six!" Toad countered. "So ha! I won!"

"Would you two shut up? Neither of you got any dates so leave it at that." Lance said as he returned his attention to the Television.

"Yeah well you couldn't get any either." Toad quipped as he stuck to the wall.

"I've already got a girl." Lance said ignoring him.

"Oh yeah? When's the last time you took your girl out on a date?" Fred asked with a smirk.

"Shut up!" Lance hollered.

**Xavier's**

"Kitty,

Hey, sorry that I didn't give you a proper goodbye. But I'm really not good with them. I promise I'll give you a call once I get some things settled down out here in Kansas. Don't worry about me, I'm flying out here to Kansas in my own way, traveling by night of course. Do me a favor? Tell that boyfriend of yours to treat you right or I'll fly back here and kick his butt. I can do it too; flying at super speed is what Dragons do best. And I really hope you're laughing right now. I'll see you later.

Chris"

A tear rolled down Kitty's cheek as she picked up the piece of paper from her bed, and laid it in her journal as Rogue came in the dorm room.

**END**

**REVIEW! IF YOU READ THIS CHAPTER THAN REVIEW IT!**


	15. Eleven Warriors

Author's Note: I created a c2 community for Original Characters, check it out if you get the chance, it's called 'Cerebro Files' however right now it only has this story, and it's prequel. If you know of another story that you'd like to see added to this community, please let me know either through email, or through a review. This Chapter I'm trying that new thing again. Writing the whole chapter from one person's point of view. Just like I wrote the first day of school from Jessica's point of view. Although this time, it'll be from a Cannon's Point of View… And today's lucky winner is… Rogue. Now to respond to your Reviews.

Mark C: I was hoping someone would catch on to Spider-Man showing up. Yes, his last name was Parker. We'll see if James will go out for revenge or not, soon, but Johnson was killed too… wasn't he?

**Chapter 15: Eleven Warriors**

Rogue sat in the living room Monday afternoon doing, of all things, her homework. Michael wasn't far off, he was in the same room, on the other side, either writing a story or doing his homework, Rogue could never tell. James and Rebecca were off somewhere, she didn't know where. The girls had all gone to the mall, and the guys were supposed to be doing something else, what exactly she didn't know.

The last few weeks had been confusing. Rogue was caught in what looked like a love triangle. Only she wasn't sure if either of the other ends had any feelings for her, and she wasn't sure if she had feelings for them.

Both were cute, but in different ways. Joe was more like Scott, safe, gentlemanly, and cool. Nathan was a class all his own, dark, sadistic, and almost like Rogue herself. It was almost clichéd, the two's personalities and styles. One was a good guy, the type of guy you wouldn't be afraid to take home. The other was a parent's nightmare.

However both of them had similar mutations to Rogue. Joe became a carbon copy of whomever he touched, so he couldn't touch anyone without becoming him or her, and Nathan killed anyone he touched so he never touched anyone at all. Both couldn't touch, just like Rogue herself couldn't touch. Was there even a point to a relationship where neither of them could touch the other?

"I'm telling you Chuck, the kids more whacked than you think he is. I wouldn't be taking him there anymore unless you plan to leave him there." Logan's voice came hushed from the hall, but both Mike and Rogue looked up as they heard it.

"Nonsense Logan, you're overreacting. I can see why he would want that." The professor's voice argued as the two grew louder.

"I don't trust him." Logan said shaking his head as the two entered into the living room.

"You don't have to." The professor countered. "Excuse me, Rogue, Michael, have either of you seen Nathaniel this afternoon?"

Rogue looked to Mike who just shrugged and shook his head, it was up to her to speak up. "Ah think Ah saw him headed towards his room after we got back from school."

Logan raised a brow as he spoke. "Does he spend all of his time in his room?"

"Yeah, usually." Mike answered. "He's usually in his room, or some other place where he can be alone."

"Why am I not surprised?" Logan asked rhetorically.

"Because you probably already suspected that he was a loner." Michael answered seriously.

"If you see him can you tell him that I need to speak with him?" The professor asked looking to Rogue.

"Sure." She answered before returning her attention to her homework.

"Good luck trying to get him if he's in his room though, he locks it all the time, blasts his music real loud, you're best bet is to wait until he comes out himself." Mike said with a shrug.

"And when will that be?" Logan asked gruffly.

"Tomorrow for school, or tonight if he gets hungry, or maybe even sooner if he gets bored." Mike said with a shrug. "Depends on him."

"Wonderful." Logan said rolling his eyes. "Come on. I'll knock the door down, you talk to him all you want." He said looking to the professor with a smirk.

"Thank you both." The professor said with a nod as he and Logan left.

"Welcome." Michael answered even though the two had already gone out of hearing range. "I hate that guy."

"Logan?" Rogue asked surprise to hear herself ask that.

"Yeah, he still owes me a book." Mike said with a frown as he returned his attention to his homework.

"What?" Rogue asked a little more confused now than she was before.

"Right after we first came here, he thought I was an intruder or something, put those claws of his right through my favorite copy of the Scarlet Letter. My only copy might I add. He still has yet to replace it." Mike explained.

"Ah'm sure he will." Rogue said, in an attempt to end the conversation and return to her schoolwork.

"Yeah, I know. But there's still just something about him I don't like." Mike said with a shrug. "Although I do appreciate that he can somehow block me from hearing his thoughts."

"What?" Rogue asked looking over to him.

"My power I…"

"Ah know that, but what did you mean that he can block you? He ain't a telepath." Rogue said surprised.

"I don't know, I just don't hear his thoughts. I hear everyone's but his and the professor's." Mike explained.

"Did you hear the thoughts Ah was thinkin' a little while ago?" Rogue asked raising a brow.

"No. I'm far enough away that I don't hear any of your thoughts right now. I like to have peace and quiet when I'm writing." Mike said with a nod.

"What are you writin' anyway?" Rogue asked curiously.

"Just a story." Mike said with a shrug. "I have to write a short story for English Lit, it's due next week." He explained.

"Ah see." She said with a nod.

Silence followed for a few moments, but then she was struck with an idea. "Hey." She said looking up to Mike.

"Yeah?" He asked looking up from his notebook for a brief second.

"You hear everyone's thoughts?" She asked for clarification.

"Except for Logan and the Professor, yes." He nodded.

"So like, you would know what some people think about other people. Right?" She asked still looking up at him.

"Wrong." He answered flat out. "I don't go eavesdropping, I hear things, I ignore things, and even things I don't ignore I don't share." He said now looking up from his notebook and pausing his writing. "Why? Are you supposed to care what someone might think about you? Whose thoughts would you need to know?"

"No one's." Rogue snapped somewhat defensively. "I was just curious.

"Yeah. Well, Joe makes his thoughts plain enough that if you couldn't tell that he likes you by now you're blind." Mike said returning his attention to his work. "And Nathan doesn't even look at any girls, he's still fully in love with his girlfriend."

"I thought you didn't share?" Rogue asked a bit angrily.

"I'm not sharing their thoughts, I'm sharing my observations." He corrected. "I don't need to be a mind reader to know that Joe likes you. He makes it blatantly obvious. And Nathan and I have talked, we're close, I know his past, and in fact I might be the only other person who knows all of it. I know that he will never have feelings for another girl unless something happens to change his mind."

"What do you think it would take to change his mind?" Rogue asked in her southern accent.

"I have no idea." Mike said shaking his head.

"But don't you think it's a little stupid for Joe to like me?" She asked being uncharacteristically open. She wasn't sure what it was but there was something about Mike that made you just want to open up to him. She remembered several of the girls saying that he was like a diary, complete with a shoulder to cry on.

Mike shook his head. "Not really. Joe's still human. He still feels. Just because he can't touch doesn't mean that he has to resign all rights to a normal life, and that includes a girlfriend."

"So he just wants a girlfriend, so that he can be considered normal?" Rogue asked raising a brow.

"No. He wants a girlfriend because he believes in such a thing as love." Mike answered honestly.

That made Rogue fall silent for a bit, she wasn't quite sure what to say or ask next. Luckily, someone else broke the silence.

"Remind me never to challenge Mr. McCoy to a game of Poker. He'll give you a lecture on the unethical-ness of Gambling." Will said as he entered the room. Elise and Joe coming in behind him.

"He's right though, you shouldn't gamble… much." Joe said with a smile as he sat down on the couch.

Elise laughed. "You weren't even gambling, just playing the game."

"That's okay." Will said with a nod. "This place needs to lighten up a bit. We've all been a bit… Nathan-like recently."

"Nathan like?" Rogue asked looking up.

"Yeah… you know… depressed, silent, all that stuff." Will said as he and Elise sat down.

"Nice man. Real nice." Nathan said as he entered the room.

Will's face blanched when he heard Nathan's voice in such a comical way that Elise nearly burst from giggling. Joe just smiled. "You know he didn't mean it as an insult." He said with a nod.

"Yeah, I know." Nathan said going to the table in the living room that Rogue was sitting at and picking up a book. The book itself was covered in what used to be a brown paper bag. It had drawings and doodles all over it.

Rogue took a good look at him while he was there, no one saw him very often. His outfit was actually semi-normal this time. He was wearing baggy jeans and a hoody with a large red spider on the chest. Silver spiders made of steel hung on the rim of the hood, and webs were on the elbows and back. He didn't have any piercing on his face this time, just a few earrings on his left ear.

"What're you doing out of your room anyway? Isn't it still your brooding time?" Will joked.

"Shut up man." Nathan said shaking his head. "I left something out here is all." He said holding up the book.

"Who the hell is Elaine?" Will asked seeing the name written several times in a fancy calligraphic style on the book cover.

Nathan just gave a glare to kill and started to leave.

"Nathan." Mike called looking up from his notebook for the first time since everyone had arrived.

"What?" Nathan asked, suddenly colder than he had been a minute ago.

"The professor and that Logan guy are looking for you." Mike said with sympathy evident in his voice.

"I know. They found me a little bit ago." Nathan said stopping at the door. "Hey Mike. How's that brother of yours? I haven't heard of him since he left." It was amazing how he could just ignore everyone else in the world if he wanted to. Though it was extremely odd that he had stayed and spoken with them for a little bit longer. Why did he do that? It made Rogue wonder.

"I got an email from him the other day actually." Mike said with a nod. "He's doing pretty good. No luck on the lead though yet, so we'll have to wait and see. I'll tell you the details later."

"Sure thing." Nathan said with a nod. "Knock first." He said before he left.

"See? That's what I mean. We've all been odd and creepy lately. We need to lighten up." Will said after Nathan had left.

"Will, Jessica just died. We're allowed to be a little depressed." Mike said actual annoyance evident in his voice.

"Yeah, I know… But still." Will said shaking his head.

"What are you gonna do man pull one of your famous pranks on James?" Joe asked jokingly.

Will sat thoughtful for a moment… "No… Not on James."

Elise slapped Will on the arm. "Don't you dare William Howlett."

Will playfully pushed her back, unfortunately sending her into Joe as he did so. Joe jumped up but unfortunately not in time. Elise had somehow managed to hit his face.

Somewhere between the couch and standing in front of it Joe had changed into a complete carbon copy of Elise. He was the same height, same face, even the same voice. "Not cool Will!" He screamed still using Elise's voice. He had to use that voice whether he wanted to or not now, for at least the next six hours.

"Dude I'm sorry." Will said standing up but he never got the chance to finish. Joe, in the form of Elise stormed out of the room.

Rogue was watching it all from the sidelines, as was Mike. Will just shrugged a little and sat back down as James and Rebecca came in through the same doorway that Joe had left through.

"What was Elise so ticked about?" James asked as he came in. This was the first time Rogue had ever seen him wear short sleeves in the institute, other than that time she saw him shirtless in the infirmary. His tattoos reached from his wrists all the way to his shoulders and then back down to his waist but the shirt covered everything save from the elbow down. "Oh." He said seeing the real Elise sitting on the couch next to Will.

Rebecca just shook her head. "Idiot."

Mike started getting up to leave, and did so unnoticed by most of them. Rogue followed him. Well, not really followed him, but she left too, and went in the same direction. "Where ya headed?" She asked trying to keep from sounding curious.

"Nathan's room. He wanted to borrow my notes from English Lit." Mike said with a nod.

"Oh…" She said with a nod. She didn't really ask if she could tag along, but Mike knew she was going to anyway. For the most part she just pretended that she was headed in the same direction as he was, and just stopped when they reached Nathan's room.

She could hear the music and almost feel the vibrations through her feet from the stereo blasting inside. The door was unornamented like all the others, but one could just sense that there was something odd about this one.

"Nathan?" Mike called as he knocked.

There was no answer, but Mike knocked once more and then opened the door.

"Are you sure it's okay if you do that?" Rogue asked as she too stepped in.

"Yeah, he's in the shower." Mike said looking around and seeing the bathroom door shut and hearing the water running, though he nearly had to shout over the music.

Rogue wasn't really surprised by the inside of his room; it was what she had expected. Posters of various heavy metal bands plastered the walls and ceiling. The picture of that girl stood on his nightstand still, and the curtains were drawn shut. Candles were the only things that lit the room other than the light coming from the hallway through the now open door.

Mike pulled out the notes and left them on the desk. "We should leave, he doesn't know you're here and well… let's go." Mike said as he started towards the door.

Rogue stayed a bit behind for a second, staring at the picture on the nightstand. It was a portrait plain and simple. Of Nathan, and a girl. But… It wasn't Nathan. Not the Nathan that she knew. He was different. Way, different. He was younger sure, but, he was dressed in sleeveless shirt, and he was wearing shorts. He didn't have any piercing on his face or anywhere, and the weirdest thing of all, he was smiling. Something she had never ever seen him do. He looked truly happy in that picture, with his arms around that girl.

Suddenly the bathroom door opened and Nathan came in with a towel wrapped around his waist, nothing else, no protection from his skin. "What are you doing in here?" He asked looking over to Rogue as he went to his desk.

"Ah uh… Ah came here with Mike to um… give you your notes." She said stammering a bit, though she wasn't quite sure why.

"Uh huh. Do me a favor?" He asked not really turning to face her.

"What?" She asked slightly confused.

"Leave." He said coldly.

Rogue looked taken aback for a second, she was trying to think of something to say, or something to do, but nothing came to mind quick enough.

Suddenly the loud music stopped completely. "LEAVE!" Nathan hollered piercing the sudden silence so unmercifully that his voice almost hurt her ears.

Quickly she ran out of the room and into the hall. Mike was nowhere to be seen. But Jean and Kitty were walking by.

"Rogue?" Kitty asked curiously, glancing to Jean and then back to Rogue as Nathan wearing only a towel shut the door to his room after Rogue.

**END**

**Author's Note:** **Okay, if you didn't like this chapter, don't be afraid to tell me. You guys rubbing my face in my mistakes are only going to make sure of the fact that I don't repeat them. I'm serious. FLAMES WELCOME. Of course, praise is welcome also. Oh, and this should be common sense by now, but REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! Oh, and um… yeah… REVIEW! Please?**


	16. Jean is Missing

**Author's Note: Hey, I want to check something, so I'm going to ask all of my readers for a favor of sorts. I want anyone to read this to post a review, it's really simple, hit the button at the bottom of the page, you don't even have to be signed in. Just say something like 'Yo, I'm still reading your story' I just want to know if I should keep going on with it, or if nobody reads it anymore if I should just give up and end it. Oh, and does anyone know what episode comes after this one?**

**Chapter 16: Jean is Missing**

The danger room was a room that most of the warriors hadn't spent a lot of time in. In fact, the girls had only been in it that once. James spent the most time down there with Hank, experimenting. But recently only the X-Men had been using it to train, a mandatory thing that Professor X had ordered.

"He wants us to do what?"

"To train."

"With the X-Men, or whatever they call themselves?"

"No, just Miss Munroe, he thinks it could do us all some good. He wants to split us up into two classes."

"What two classes?"

"Girls and Guys."

"But we always worked together before."

"He said that he noticed a difference in abilities, and the girls seem to be given gifts that are less combat oriented than the guys. So he developed a different kind of program for us."

"I think it sounds cool." Danielle said walking into Elise and Megan's conversation. "When is the first class?"

"In about half an hour." Megan said looking over to her. "You two up for it?"

Unlike the X-Men, the Warriors didn't quite have uniforms, but the girls did wear matching outfits. Rebecca wore a pair of leather pants with vest, almost a biker look to her. Elise wore stretchy sweats and a t-shirt, loose and movable. Danielle and Grace wore the same as Elise, and Megan wore Jeans.

Miss Munroe was the last one in, wearing her uniform that she always wore when she was known as 'Storm.' "Good morning." She said with a smile as she came in.

"Morning." Grace said with a returned smile.

"What are we supposed to be doing anyway?" Megan asked.

"Well the professor wanted you to take this class in order to develop your abilities and learn how to use them in environments and circumstances that might or might not come up in life." Storm explained. "Now, although I know all of you, I can honestly say that I do not know all of your powers, and the explanations that the professor gave me; I don't quite understand all of them. So, as a beginning exercise, could you all please give me a demonstration of your abilities?" She asked kindly.

At first they just looked to each other, but then Rebecca shrugged. "I'll go first, name's Rebecca, my ability is a combination of enhanced reflex and premonition. I see some things a few seconds before they actual happen which give my inhumanly sharp reflexes a chance to react." Rebecca explained. "To give a demonstration I'd need you to throw something at me."

"Could you dodge a bolt of lightning?" Storm asked curiously.

"Never tried, but probably." Rebecca said with a shrug.

"Perhaps we could try later." Storm smiled. "What about you?" She asked looking to Megan.

"I have something of a hypnotic suggestion ability. I'd need a volunteer though to give you a demonstration." Megan answered.

"What kind of suggestion? Like you tell them to do something and they do it?" Storm asked.

"Sort of…" She began to answer.

"I hate to interrupt." Kurt said as he bamfed into the danger room. "But have any of you seen Jean?"

"No." Rebecca said shaking her head with a few of the others.

Miss Munroe shook her head as well. "Sorry Kurt. Why what's wrong?"

"The professor thinks she might be missing. Nobody knows vhere she vent." Kurt said shrugging. "Sorry, get back to your training, the professor has me and a few of the others looking for her."

"Hey wait!" Megan said before he bamfed out again. "Before you go, maybe you could help us with a few demonstrations?"

"Like vhat?" Kurt asked curiously.

"Well you can teleport, so can you try and hit Rebecca? And then Miss Munroe here wants to see a demonstration of my abilities, would you be willing to be a guinea pig?" Megan asked with a brow raised.

"Um…" He looked to Storm and then back to Megan. "Sure. You vant me to just bamf and hit Rebecca?" He asked to make sure.

"If you can." Rebecca said with a shrug. "Thomas never could."

Kurt shrugged and stood up straight. "You ready?" Kurt asked.

"Yup, go right ahead." Rebecca said turning so that her back was to him.

Kurt jumped into the air and then bamfed, Rebecca ducked as his arm came out of a puff of smoke next to her, followed by his tail coming around in a sweeping motion but she had already flipped back and avoided it. The hand to hand fighting went on for a few seconds, he kicked, punched, and teleported like crazy, but Rebecca was moving in advance of him, almost like it was rehearsed and she knew where he would be hitting. Finally Miss Munroe clapped as in applause and ended it.

"Very good both of you." She said with a smile. "Quite a remarkable ability there Miss Rebecca."

"You can call me Becky if you want." Rebecca said with a smile.

"You want me to go now?" Megan asked glancing a bit to Kurt.

"If you would." Storm answered.

"Hey, come here." Megan said in a low toned voice to Kurt.

Kurt looked at her for a bit with a brow raised and came over to him.

"I'm going to sort of manipulate you, promise not to hate me." She said with a smile.

"I promise." Kurt answered with a slight smile.

"Good. I want you to bamf upstairs and get me some flowers, roses, if you can find them." She said with a hand on his shoulder.

Kurt smiled a bit and nodded. "Sure." He teleported away and left, leaving a cloud of blue smoke behind him.

"Why didn't you use your ability?" Storm asked.

"I did. He really didn't have a choice about getting me the flowers, but I'll bet you he brings me at least one rose. Should I try something a little more obvious?" Megan asked curiously.

Kurt bamfed back before she could answer, with half a dozen roses in his two-fingered hand. "I couldn't find any upstairs, so I vent to town."

Megan smiled as she took them. "Thank you Kurt, now can you do me another favor?"

"Sure." Kurt said with a slight smile.

"Sing, the itsy bitsy spider."

He then proceeded to sing it, as if there was nothing at all odd about it, it was just something he was doing. Miss Munroe looked at Megan with a slight sense of surprise. By the time he finished the song, most of the girls were laughing, and Megan thanked him.

"Thank you Kurt. You may now continue your search." Storm said. "And you Danielle?" She asked looking to Danielle.

"I actually don't have an ability." Danielle said looking up to Storm. She pulled down the neck of her shirt a bit and looked up. "My vocal cords were ripped out by a dog, and Thomas replaced them with this." She said as she revealed a patch of circuitry at the bottom of her neck, running in two strips up towards her chin a bit. "Artificial vocals, that's my ability."

"No mutant gene or abilities?" Storm asked curiously.

"No, I can scream real loud, but I'm just a normal human." She said with a slight giggle. "Well, as normal as you can be when you don't have vocal cords."

"Okay… And you?" She asked looking to Grace.

"Agility." Grace answered. "Basically. But if you want the scientific term it's called stabilized equilibrium. My equilibrium is completely balanced all of the time so that I never get dizzy, and never loose my balance, I've got a supernatural sense of balance. It allows me to perform feats of gymnastics that no normal person could really do. Such as running across walls, and a few other things, though gravity still has its affect of course."

Storm raised a brow a bit. "Interesting." She said with a nod. "I'd be interested to see a demonstration if you're willing."

"Sure." Grace said with a slight nod. "Um…" She looked around a bit. Suddenly she ran towards the wall, but when she got there she ran up it a bit, only one or two steps, and then flipped off of it, flying backwards and landing on her hands. Then she proceeded to flip back towards them.

"Wonderful." Storm said with a nod. "I'm sure your abilities have a few other applications as well."

"Yeah, I'm a heck of a tightrope walker." Grace said with a slight laugh as she rejoined them.

"Where'd everybody go?" James asked as he came into the living room. Only Mike was sitting still in the windowsill looking outside.

"Well the guys are out in town somewhere, the girls are down in the danger room with Miss Munroe, but the X-Men all took off. The professor said that they found Jean." Mike answered not taking his gaze from the window.

"I'm surprised that you didn't go with them." James said as he came in a little more and sat on the couch.

"I wanted to, and the professor asked me to, but to be honest I don't think I could handle the X-Jet, crowded in that small space with all those people." Mike said shrugging a bit.

"I thought you were getting better at it." James said slightly curious. "Don't Jean and the professor give you those psychic shields?"

"Yeah, but they aren't working. The keep breaking down sooner and sooner, and I'm afraid too use them too much or they won't work at all." Mike said with a shrug.

"So what're you going to do? You can't keep going to that school down there if your powers are getting out of hand." James asked concerned.

"I know the risk." Mike said a bit sadly. "But to be honest I'm doing okay with it. The halls are pretty bad sometimes, but once I'm in the back of the classroom I'm fine."

"Yeah but from what I hear you've been getting picked on." James said looking over to him.

"James, look at me." Mike said turning his head. "I've got the intelligence of an adult with the body of a ten year old and the wisdom of fourteen years of experience. I've always been picked on."

"Well none of us pick on you, do we?" James asked.

"Of course not." Mike said shaking his head. "But that's because here with you guys I'm accepted. In school, I'm a freaky little smart kid who's too polite for his own good."

"Well I can't claim to know how you feel to be honest." James said with a slight smile. "I mean you and I are pretty different, I'm six and a half feet tall and three hundred pounds of muscle. I haven't been picked on since I was twelve."

"It's hard to believe you were ever picked on." Mike said with a slight smile.

"Everyone gets picked on once or twice in his or her lifetime." James said with a nod. "Back then I was a chubby little kid, then I started excercising, went out for sports, that kinda thing, stuff changed."

"Now you're a pro body builder and personal trainer." Mike said with a smile.

"Well, I wouldn't call myself a pro, but I was able to get the certification to be a personal trainer." James said as he looked towards the living room door for a brief second. "But for now, I'm just a fellow Highschool student."

"What?" Mike asked looking over to him.

James smiled. "My sister's mutation activated when she was twelve. I was only fourteen. We ran away to Chicago, and I dropped out of school. I never got my Highschool diploma, and I wasn't that smart to begin with anyway, so I figured what was the use, you know? Then we moved here, and Jessica went to school, I didn't have to work two jobs anymore, and I figured I should start getting my life in order, especially since now I'm getting married."

"Good for you." Mike interrupted. "I'm glad that you aren't just giving up."

"Well, it's like Jessica used to say, I'm too stubborn to give up." James said with a smile.

The danger room session was cut short, as Storm was called out with the X-men when they went to rescue Jean. But the girls stayed in there, training by themselves. The room itself was buzzing with activity. Lasers and tentacles were coming out of the walls. The floor was nothing but sticks, literally. Five-foot sticks roughly six inches apart covered the floor. Grace was on top of them, jumping around from stick to stick, but the rest of them were on the ground trying to maneuver through them.

"I think we ought to call it a day!" Danielle hollered over the noise of the danger room.

"And stop all the fun?" Grace called out comically.

"None of our powers, other than your and Rebecca's, are meant for this kind of thing." Megan answered.

"Fine." Rebecca said with a slight laugh as she shut the thing down from the control panel. "Come on, let's get dinner ready upstairs for everyone. I figure we can surprise the X-Men with a wonderful meal."

"You're nuts right? Remember what happened last time you tried to cook Becky?" Elise asked scoffing as the room returned to its normal state.

"It wasn't that bad." Rebecca countered.

"The meatloaf bounced." Megan said with a smile. "I don't think it's supposed to do that."

"Fine, then at least let's surprise them with some pizza." Rebecca said with a smile.

"Sounds good to me." Danielle said with a smile.

**END**

**COMING SOON: Chapter 17, the Brotherhood starts some trouble and the Warriors are ready to answer, but can the X-Men stop the all out battle that the Brotherhood is planning? And what ever happened to that guy Magneto sent into town?**


	17. Bullies and Respect

**Author's Note: Thanks so much to all the people that reviewed in the last chapter. After a little bit of down time and some thinking I've decided that I'm going to continue with the story even if there aren't any people reading it. Why? Because otherwise I'd be bored. Oh, and special thanks to Mark C.**

**Hell Devil:** Thanks, it's because of people like you this story will continue for a good long while.

**Mark C:** Thanks for the info regarding the episode. And thanks for the support. I love it when my reviewers are nice and supportive. And wouldn't it be nice to see Mike gain control of his powers? I wonder if he ever will…

**Anticlown-outziders:** Thank you so much for the encouragement and support! I love the fact that somehow for some unknown reason I have a few diehard fans.

**Chapter 17:** **Bullies and Respect**

"Hey look, the X-geeks." Todd said smugly sitting on the fence near the exit to the school as Will and Elise walked past them into the building. Lance and Pietro were standing there next to Toad leaning against the fence.

"Bug off." Will answered with a wave of his hand.

"Hey." Pietro said as he zipped in front of them. "I don't think I like your tone."

"This better?" Will asked in a girly-voice. Elise laughed.

"Hey, where's the rest of your little group?" Todd asked looking behind them. "Don't you usually travel in a pack?"

"Elise and I were… hanging out. The rest of them are probably inside waiting for you to annoy them." Will said with a smirk.

Toad's tongue came out and started to go near Elise when Will raised a hand towards it and Toad found his tongue suddenly pulled into Will's fist and he was yanked down off the fence. He landed pretty roughly on the concrete before Will let go of it and wiped his now slime covered hand on Pietro.

"Hey! This was relatively clean!" Pietro yelled shoving Will back a bit and obviously getting a little angry.

"Calm down." Elise said strongly but gently, her eyes changed from their normal blue color to a green.

Pietro's anger seemed to fade, as did Toad's. "Hey!" Will said looking over to Elise. "I don't need any help."

"Let's just get inside." Elise said calmly, going in and dragging Will with her. Once inside she smacked him across the shoulder. "You promised me no fights when we moved here."

Will shrugged. "The guy tried to put his tongue on you. You wanted me to let that happen?"

"No." Elise answered. "But I can handle myself."

"I know, but still, it's the principal of the thing." Will said shaking his head. "Where are the others anyway? We're early, is anyone else even here?"

"Well Mike's probably here, he always comes early. Lord knows with everyone else." Elise said shaking her head. "Why?"

"Well just incase those guys suddenly realized that you used your powers on them and get real angry again." Will said with a smile.

**MEANWHILE**

"You guys want a ride to school?" Scott asked Evan and Kurt as they came out of Xavier's Institute for gifted children. His cobra already held Megan and Jean in it, Megan in the passenger seat and Jean looking like she was ticked about something.

"Nah." Evan said holding up his skateboard.

"I'll take one." Kurt said raising a hand. He jumped into the backseat quite easily and sat next to Jean.

James came out of the institute with Joe, John, Rogue, and Amara following him. "Fine, I'll give you a ride. You're lucky Thomas brought this with him when he came for…" He paused for a second. "Or I wouldn't have a car."

The four waited as Evan rolled out of the driveway and headed towards school. Scott pulled away as James pulled up in a convertible '67 Mustang freshly painted blue. "Get in." He said impatiently.

"This is your car?" Amara asked skeptically.

"Yeah." James said with a nod as Joe sat up front, Rogue in the backseat, Amara in the middle, and John on the other end. "Nice ain't she?" He asked as he shifted gears and pulled away.

The drive to school was usually filled with silence; the only one's hair that wasn't affected by the wind was John's. He and his brother always gelled their hair back so it looked slick and was usually unaffected by such stuff. Both of them had that same hairstyle, with matching blue hair, and being identical in face and build didn't help much either.

The car pulled up in front of the school and the teens hopped out. Almost immediately they were approached by the Brotherhood. James hadn't even pulled away yet. But this time Blob and Tabitha were with them. "Yo, Will, we got a bone to pick with you." Toad said hopping forward.

John laughed. "Yo, idiot, go find my brother."

Toad looked at him for a second. "Hey, you're little girlfriend tricked us."

"Amara? She's not my-." John started but he was cut off by Lance.

"Not her. Elise. The girl you were 'hanging out' with earlier?" Lance said sarcastically.

John's face tightened. At the mention of him dating Elise he seemed to get a little upset. Which was something odd. Usually he was the calm cool collected one. His hands tightened into a fist but Joe's glove covered hand tugged on his shoulder a bit.

"Everybody just calm down." Joe said playing peacemaker.

"Everything okay here?" James said getting out of his car.

Rogue went wide-eyed a bit, James was even bigger than Blob, except that James was muscle and Blob was fat. She hadn't thought to compare the two before.

"This doesn't concern you." Pietro snapped.

"What are your powers anyway glove boy?" Toad asked before his tongue came out and snapped off one of Joe's gloves.

"Hey!" James yelled stepping between the two groups. "Get to class." He said looking to Rogue and Amara.

"But-." Rogue started.

"Just go." James said glaring down at her.

Rogue backed a way a bit and went into the school, Amara following behind. "What's your problem?" Tabitha asked looking up to James unafraid.

"John?" James asked looking over his shoulder. "A pair of driving gloves are in the glove compartment, Joe will have to use them until later."

"Or I could just get my glove back." Joe said before he started towards Toad, hand outstretched to take his glove.

"Back off." Quicksilver said before zipping in front of him and grabbing Joe's hand only to knock him down.

Joe got back up. But now he was ticked. And he wasn't Joe. Quicksilver stared at him for a second before Joe spoke. "You idiot." He said now forced to use Pietro's voice.

"So that's your power." Lance said with a slight smirk on his face.

"That's enough." James said shaking his head. "You idiots leave them alone."

"James, we can handle this on our own." John said looking up to his mentor.

"Yeah, so back off." Toad said before spitting a wad of slime onto James.

James pulled it off and flung it back at him. Before grabbing him by the neck and pulling him up to look at him face to face. Toad just smiled and spit another wad of slime right into James' face.

John winced, that was a bad move if there ever was one. James didn't just drop toad, he flung him to the side and wiped the slime off. Toad smacked into a tree and fell to the ground, more shocked than he was hurt.

"James!" Will yelled coming out of the school.

"Holy crap there is two of them." Lance said shaking his head.

"Where'd Joe go?" John asked looking around; Joe had apparently gone off using Quicksilver's super speed.

"Maybe he got scared." Quicksilver quipped.

"All of you stop it." Scott said coming out of the school. "James, go pack to the institute and help Joe. John and Will, get to class." He said giving orders.

"Who are you to order us?" Will asked arrogantly.

"Will!" Elise said slapping him from behind.

"Come on. He's right, they're not worth it. They won't even come right out and challenge us." John said with a smirk.

"Oh yeah?" Lance said spreading his feet apart. "Come on. Right here. Right now!" He yelled.

John smirked. "It'd be my pleasure." He smiled.

"Stand down." James said turning his back to the brotherhood and facing Will and John. "Both of you get to class. You want to settle something, wait until after school, and do it off of school grounds."

"That's your advice?" Scott asked raising a brow. "Fight so long as it's off school grounds?"

James just gave him a glare that shut him and everyone else up in a matter of seconds. "Go." He said looking to John.

They obeyed. And the brotherhood just shrugged it off. "Forget this." James heard Lance say as they left.

"By the end of the day their tempers will have cooled and they won't want to fight." James said looking at Scott. "Next time they don't listen to you, why don't you try listening to someone else?" He asked sarcastically. "Now get to class."

Scott nodded as if in acceptance and headed off. It obviously bothered him though that James had told him what to do. There was just something odd about it. He had always been the leader. The one everyone looked to. The commander. But not with the Warriors, they did what they wanted to do, and they didn't listen to you unless you had their respect. Scott obviously didn't, James obviously did.

"Don't worry about it Scott." Jean said as they re-entered the school. "James knows what he's doing."

Scott didn't say anything.

**MEANWHILE**

"Leave me alone!" Mike yelled as he ran down the outside courtyard. This time Nathan wasn't here to help him. And unlike Nathan, Mike didn't know how to be intimidating. Voices were running through his head as the football team started to catch up with him. Why did this always seem to happen to him?

"What the?" Quicksilver asked looking behind him, as a young kid, probably nine or so, ran past him, followed by the entire football team.

Unfortunately just after passing the boy tripped, and fell quite hard onto the floor.

"Hey." The blob said blocking the team's path. "Pick on somebody your own size."

"You okay?" Tabitha asked helping the boy up. "What'd a little guy like you do to tick them off so much?"

"I'm not little." Mike said standing up. A ridiculous statement really, since he was just barely five feet tall in height. "I'm fourteen."

"Oh. Sorry." Tabitha said with a slight smile. "You just look so young."

"I get that a lot." Mike said holding his forehead.

"You got a scratch?" Tabitha asked reaching forward to his hand.

Mike pulled away. "Just a headache." He said shaking his head. He looked behind him but it appeared that the football team had given up.

"Thanks." He said looking up to the big guy.

"No problem." He said with a smile.

Lance looked down at him with a smirk. "What'd you do to get them so ticked off?"

"I made a comment that they probably didn't understand." Mike answered, he tried to smile, but the smile turned into a wince. His headache was getting worse, and their thoughts were getting louder. Suddenly another one of them appeared.

"Yo, school's about to start. We stayin' or ditchin?" The little green guy asked.

"Forget school." Lance said shaking his head.

"You coming?" Tabitha said looking to Mike.

"I'm going to school. Maybe I'll see you later." Mike said with a slight smile to Tabby as she winked and ran off with the others.

The silence was nice. "I wish Tylenol would help this." He said with a slight laugh. The bell rang and he winced. "It's going to be a long day."

**MEANWHILE**

A man dressed in a thick coat dialed the pay phone across from the school. "You want me to go through with it?" The man asked. "I gave you the information you wanted." He said as if answering a question. "Yes, and two of them have already left. One dead, the other disappeared." He added. "I don't know where. Nobody seems to."

"Have you had any luck with the group still in New York?" He asked. "Well I'll try it, but I think this Mike kid is a little…" He started. "Yeah, he's here." He nodded. "He's been keeping his distance from the brotherhood."

"I know." He said with a sigh in his voice. "Don't worry. He won't see me." He said with a nod. "I'm still not sure this will work. I haven't seen a hide or hair of Mystique. But knowing her she could be anywhere." The man said with a smile. "Don't worry."

**MEANWHILE**

James came into the mansion with Joe who had been sitting outside. Logan gave them the oddest look when they came through the door, but James explained it.

"Don't worry. It's Joe." James said as he came into the foyer. "You go do whatever you want, watch T.V. or something. I've got to get ready for tonight."

"What's tonight?" Joe/Quicksilver asked.

"My and Rebecca's anniversary." He said with a smile.

"What are you going to do?" He asked again.

"Don't worry about it." James said with a smile before going into the kitchen.

"Beer?" Logan asked him as he came into the kitchen and held an extra bottle towards James.

James looked at the bottle for a moment as if considering it and then shook his head. "No." He said firmly. "Thanks anyway." He said with a smile.

"Suit yourself." Logan said with a shrug as he opened the other one and took a swig.

"You seen Rebecca?" James asked.

"Went out shopping with Ororo." Logan answered. "Hanks in the danger room working, and the Professor is in the library I think. If you're looking for either of them."

"That's okay." James said with a smile. "Hey, can you tell me something?"

"What do you want to know?" Logan asked.

"What's with that group of kids at school? That fat kid that hangs out with the green guy and the girl and the kid Joe touched and the other guy and the girl? Are they mutants?" James asked.

"Yeah." Logan answered with a nod. "It's a long story."

"Well if you want to tell it, I could use some entertainment while I start cooking for tonight." James said as he got out some pots and pans.

"Sure." Logan said with a shrug.

**END**

**Author's Note: REVIEW! Thanks.**


	18. Discussions

**Waytoevil:** Is this soon enough?

**Mark C:** James and Scott clash even when trying to work together because of their personalities. They both have that leadership quality in them, but when they both try to use it at the same time things get a little hairy. And Of course Tabby took a shine to Mike, everybody likes Mike. lol.

**Bella:** They'll finish their conversation eventually. Maybe.

**Author's Note:** Usually I like to wait a while before I mix things up, but this was asked for, and it just really worked when I had the idea for this chapter. Thus this whole chapter is written from a specific character's point of view. This time it's a cannon character. Scott Summers.

**Chapter 8: Discussions**

The alarm clock went off but was hit by a fully dressed and ready to go Scott. He had woken up a bit early and was already up and ready for a Saturday full of training and learning and fun. He adjusted his visor and set out in his X-Men uniform he had a session with Logan that morning.

When he got outside however he was in for a bit of a surprise. Also in the session today was Evan, Kurt, Jean, Kitty, Rogue, and then another Kurt, and then Will and John. He looked at both Kurt's for a really long time before one of them spoke. "I'm the real one, that is Joseph." Kurt said with a slight smile.

The other Kurt, Joe, smiled at him. "But vhy should he be able to tell us apart?" He asked, imitating not only Kurt's voice, but also his accent. That wasn't a power; he was just good at imitating accents if he wanted to.

Logan nodded to him as he came in. "The professor thought it would be good if they joined us."

"The girls turned it down though." Will said with a smile.

"Okay. So should we get started?" Evan asked looking over to Logan.

"Well first I'd like to know exactly what these two could do." He said looking over at Will and John.

One of them spoke up first, Scott couldn't tell them apart though when they were standing right next to each other. "I'm John. I can create invisible fields of energy that expand outwards and fade, the smaller the shield, the stronger it is, pretty simple stuff. I pretty normal strength thanks to James' work out program that he's made all of us do for the past two years, and I'm an average gymnast thanks to my mother."

Then Will spoke up. "I'm Will, call me William and I'll hit you. I can create vacuums of space around or on parts of my body in order to draw things to me. Or myself to things depending on their size and stuff. I can stick to walls in other words. And I'm the same as my brother here with strength and all that fun stuff."

"So you two think you know what you're doing?" Logan asked with a slight smirk on his face.

"Maybe." Will answered looking uneasy at the smile from Logan.

"Well, the object of today's little exercise is to make it in one piece through the walkway." Logan said. "You'll be going in pairs. Scott and Jean, Kurt and Evan, Rogue and Joe, and Will and John. Kitty your with me. Who wants to go first?"

They all sort of looked at each other for a second. Finally Scott made his decision. "I'll go." He said stepping forward a bit and looking to Jean.

It wasn't that hard, running and shooting at the same time, Jean flying and blocking for him what he couldn't shoot, but it was tiring. By the time he got to the end both he and Jean were straggling.

"You okay?" Scott asked as Jean landed a little ways away from him.

"Yeah, just a bit tired." She said with a smile. "How long do think we have to wait for the others to get here?"

"Well, they're on the other side of the house, I'd say just a few minutes and they should be here." Scott answered. He paused for a brief second. "What do you think of the Warriors?"

"I don't know what do you think?" Jean asked.

"Well, I like some of them. I mean Megan's a lot of fun, and John being my roommate is okay, but I wonder sometimes about some of them." Scott said with a shrug. "I don't think they're all that I thought the were back when I met them."

"What like Nathan?" Jean asked. "He's just dealing with his life the best way he knows how. We're here to help him through all that."

"Not just Nathan. I mean yesterday when they almost got into a fight with the brotherhood. James went to stop it and just told them to fight later." Scott said looking for the rest of the team.

"Well we fight the brotherhood too Scott." Jean said with a reminding nod. "James was just trying to get them to cool down, you know that, he explained that."

"But the way he did it…" Scott started.

"He's the leader right? He just has a different style of leading than the professor. That's all." Jean said with a smile.

"So does Magneto." Scott said thoughtfully.

"I don't think they're that bad." Jean said with a smile.

"What's up with you and Mike? Has his tutoring been working out?" Scott asked.

"Yeah, he's been doing really well with it. He doesn't have any telekinetic ability from what the professor can tell, but he's doing really well with his telepathy and making some process. He's been able to dig a little deeper than just surface thoughts." Jean said as she sat down.

"Has he been able to block anyone yet?" Scott asked curiously.

"No." Jean paused. "Not yet."

Rogue and Joe/Kurt came up next. Joe was breathing somewhat easier than Rogue. "Now that vas fun." He said with a smile, still being forced to use Kurt's voice.

The session went fairly well, after it they all hit the showers, and then Scott went to the kitchen to get something to eat. Reaching into the fruit bowl, he pulled out an apple and washed it off.

"Forget to eat before the training session?" Mike's voice came from the table behind him and caused him to jump.

"Oh, sorry, didn't see you there." Scott said with an awkward smile.

"That's okay." Mike said taking a spoonful of his cereal. "What's on your mind?"

"Wouldn't you already know that answer?" Scott asked taking a bite of his apple and sitting at the table with Mike.

"It was a way of starting conversation." Mike said with a smile. "Besides, we never really got to finish our conversation that we started back in New York."

"True." Scott said. He glanced around. "Now looks like an excellent time. Besides I am curious to a few things."

"As am I." Mike said with a small smile. "In New York you mentioned a Brotherhood, a group of people that had different standards than yours." Mike started. "But we have yet to meet them."

"Well Jessica met them, from what I know." Scott said with a shrug. "And Will, John, and James had a run in with them yesterday, and Chris almost fought them when he was here."

"So they have been picking fights with us?" Mike asked.

"Yeah, a few. How come you've never seen them?" Scott asked.

"Well at school I run from school to here, never anywhere else, and most of my classes are honors classes and advanced stuff so I don't see any of you really." Mike said with a shrug.

"Oh." Scott said with a slight nod.

Mike smiled. "You're right, I am the key to the rest of the Warriors."

Scott smiled somewhat. "I've got to remember not to think to myself while around you."

"Sorry. I can't help it." Mike said with a shrug. "But you're right. I'm the diary for most people. Everybody in the Warriors tells me they're problems and their past troubles and such. Even Jean does it now."

"Jean? What does she tell you?" Scott asked.

Mike laughed. "I don't betray trusts Scott." He shook his head. "If you want to know what she said you ask her yourself."

Scott quieted for a second.

"So what did you want to know about Megan?" Mike asked.

"Well, I know some of James' past, and Nathan's is almost public knowledge. But I don't know much about the rest of the warriors." Scott said honestly. "And I was wondering, where is she from?"

"That's a good question to ask her." Mike said with a smile. "She likes to talk, all the hanging out she's been doing with you I'm surprised you two haven't discussed anything deeply."

"She's always quiet when I'm around." Scott said with a shrug.

"Maybe she's nervous." Mike answered.

"Why would she be nervous?" Scott asked.

"That's a good question to ask yourself." Mike said. "Neither of them really hide how they feel, you just won't admit to yourself that they feel that way."

"What?" Scott asked looking surprised.

"Nothing." He said rolling his eyes. "Eat your apple." Mike said with a smile before drinking the remaining milk in his bowl. "The last time we talked, it was mainly about my powers, so I'm curious. What exactly are yours?"

"Well my eyes generate this optic blast constantly that is very concentrated and thus destructive. I'm packing a bazooka behind each eyeball." Scott said with a slightly nervous smile.

"And you can't control it?" Mike asked.

"Not at all." Scott said shaking his head.

"You and I are a lot alike then I suppose." Mike smiled. "We both have absolutely no control over the gifts we have been given."

"I guess so." Scott said with a nod. "That was rather poetic."

"Thank you." Mike said with a smile.

"So what are your plans for this weekend?" Scott asked.

"Well, I've got a session with Jean in a few minutes, and then Hank and I are having a movie marathon in the living room. I think Evan is supposed to be joining us too. And a few others will probably filter in." Mike said with a nod. "Then tomorrow I don't know about yet, probably some studying and stuff like that."

"What movies are you watching?" Scott asked cocking his head a little.

"Plays of Shakespeare." Mike said with a smile. "Mac Beth, Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, A Mid Summer Night's Dream, and maybe even Othello if we have the time."

"I should've known." Scott said finishing his apple.

"You're welcome to join us if you want." Mike said with a smile. "But I understand if it's not your thing."

"Thanks." Scott said with a smile. "But you're right, Shakespeare is not really my thing."

"Anyway, I'll see you around later, this discussion was great, but Jean's expecting me in about five minutes." He said with a nod as he began to exit. "I'll see you around."

"See ya." Scott said with a nod as Mike left.

He sat there all alone again before getting up and beginning to walk to the living room. Walking down the hall he stopped when he saw Kurt. "Hey man." Kurt said holding up a hand. "Vhere are you going?"

"Well I was go see if anyone wanted to join me at the movies." Scott said with a shrug. "You up for it?"

"Ja." Kurt said with a nod. "Beast has got the living room all set up for this Shakespeare thing, anyvhere but here vorks for me."

"Go ask anybody else who will fit in my car. I'll meet you there." Scott said with a smile and then headed to the garage as Kurt teleported away. When he got to the garage the lights were on, and there was James the giant in a pair of overalls and a white t-shirt, working on his car, which had it's hood up.

"Hey man." James said with a nod. "Want to give me a hand?" He asked looking over to Scott. "I need someone to hold the light while I go under at re attach this." He said holding up some car part.

"Sure." Scott said out of politeness. He was still kind of avoidant to James; he really didn't like him all that much.

"Thanks." James said getting on his back and sliding under. "I wanted to talk to you about yesterday." James said once he was under.

"What for?" Scott asked.

"I wanted to say I'm sorry." James started. "I sort of snapped at you there at the end and I didn't want to. I guess my worries about that night started affecting my patience."

"It's okay." Scott said. "Don't worry about it." He added with a slight smile. After a brief pause though he spoke again. "What about last night worried you?"

"It was my and Rebecca's Anniversary." James explained. "And I wanted everything to be perfect."

"Was it?" Scott asked.

"Well if I was trying to re-enact our first date, then no, but if I wanted a good date, then yes." James said with a smile. "It was a night she'll remember."

"What was your first date like?" Scott asked.

"It was back when I lived in Chicago, I'd just started out and I didn't have a whole lot of money. Rebecca and I knew each other's secret, so I wasn't afraid to invite her over because I knew she wouldn't freak at seeing Jessica." James began as he slid back out from under the car. "I cooked her dinner at my house."

"Sounds romantic." Scott said with a nod as James closed the hood to the car.

"Well it would've been, but I wasn't that good a cook yet. Everything came out burnt, and Rebecca wasn't expecting to meet my sister, and she did freak out a bit. She'd never met a mutant with such a physical change before." James said with a slight smile. "It was funny as hell." He laughed.

"That's horrible." Scott said shaking his head and putting the lamp back.

"Yeah, it was, but it turned out okay in the end." James said with a smile. "Last night I cooked for her again, but this time I've got experience and it came out fine."

"What'd you cook?" Scott asked.

"Filet of Salmon in a light butter sauce with some white wine, her favorite meal." James said with a nod. "I had some steak and some Pepsi, my favorite meal." He added with a smile.

"Sounds cool." Scott said with a smile.

"It was. It was great." James said with a nod as he wiped off his hands. "So apology accepted?" He asked offering his hand for a shake.

"Apology accepted." Scott said shaking his hand.

"Any time you need that Shelby Cobra of yours tuned up or fixed I'm your guy." James said. "I know my way around cars, I built this one." He patted his car on the hood.

"Thanks. You built that?" He asked slightly curious.

"Yep." James said with a hint of pride in his voice. "Worked on her for years."

Kurt suddenly teleported onto the roof of his car, and almost made James fall over from surprise. "Ready to go?" He asked looking to Scott. "John, Will, and Elise said they wanted to come, and so did Kitty."

"Sure." Scott said getting into his car. "I'll see you later James."

"See ya." James said with a smile.

**End**

**Author's Note: REVIEW! **

Coming Soon: The Warriors and the Brotherhood go at it while the X-Men are helpless to stop them, but the Warriors don't quite know what they're going up against, neither does the Brotherhood, will the Professor have to step in?


	19. Unnamed Chapter

**Waytoevil: **I updated that for you. Sorry it took so long.

**Mark C: **Thanks man. I love your long reviews. You deserve a reward of some kind.

**Tribegirl: **Jessica's not dead. She did jump dimensions with the Travelers, but they're not coming into this story again, they've gone to their own story. The people here think that they're dead.

**MJ: **I'm not bringing Gambit in until the episodes would have brought him in. So you might have to wait a while. Sorry. But as for competition…

**Kero:** Storm's here, but she doesn't have a major role in any of the Warrior's lives yet, so she's riding in the back seat. Don't worry; you'll be seeing more of her. As for Gambit, again, he won't be coming into the story for a while, but he will eventually.

**Author's Note: The words in** _Italics _**Are words spoken telepathically. Just so there's no confusion.**

**Chapter 19: Unnamed Chapter**

"Jean? You in here?" Mike asked as he came into the library.

"Over here Mike." Jean met him with a smile; she was sitting with some open books by the fireplace. "Ready for some training?" She asked cheerfully.

"Ready as I'll ever be I suppose." Mike said with a shrug.

"Okay." Jean said with a nod. "Start clearing your mind."

Mike sat down next to her, and took a deep breath as he closed his eyes. _"Can you hear me?" _

"_Yes, I can hear you."_ Jean answered. _"I want you to try and dig into my mind, my memories. See if you can find the memory of when we first met."_

Mike concentrated as hard as he could, and images began to flick through his head. Flashes. Him, Scott, James, Jessica, Professor X, Kitty, Rogue, and suddenly Mike found himself in a completely different place. He was outside, in what looked like the gardens. Scott was in front of him, but it wasn't Mike's body, it was Jean's. He was talking, but it was Jean's voice, they were having a discussion.

Mike stumbled back a bit and snapped to with his hand to his forehead and in the same library again with Jean leaning over him. She had caught him when he fell. _"Sorry."_ Mike said telepathically.

"It's okay." Jean said. "What did you see? Anything?"

"You and Scott, in battle uniforms, you were talking outside. I'm not sure when. Then Kurt and Rogue came in, and I snapped out of it." Mike said closing his eyes.

"That was probably this morning." Jean said with a nod. "Good. At least this time you managed to access my memory. You just need to work on it a bit more."

"My head hurts." Mike said rubbing his forehead with his left hand.

"No more today." Jean said with a smile. "But you're doing fine."

"Thanks." Mike said as he opened his eyes.

"Um…" Rogue's voice startled both of them. Jean who was still leaning partially over him, a rather intimate scene if you hadn't seen the whole thing, was still holding Mike. "Sorry to interrupt, but Hank was looking for ya Mike."

Jean nearly dropped him and Mike stood up. "Thanks." He said brushing himself off a bit. "Either of you going to join us for our movie-thon?"

"What movies are you watching?" Jean asked curiously.

"Shakespeare. Mac Beth, Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, that sort of thing." Mike said with a nod as he turned around to face Rogue. "And no Rogue, the scene you just walked in on wasn't what you think. I fainted from practicing with my powers. She caught me."

"Ah didn't say anything." Rogue said with a shrug.

"Sorry." Mike said shaking his head. "I think I need some aspirin."

"I'll get you some, and then I'll join you and Hank for that movie marathon." Jean said with a smile as she patted his head and left.

"She doesn't think of me that way." Mike said looking to Rogue.

"Ah didn't say anything." Rogue said again.

"I know you didn't." Mike said with a saddened nod. "I just felt like… saying something."

**VVVV**

Scott, Kurt, Kitty, Will, Elise, and Megan, were all at the movie theater now. John had changed his mind; he decided he wanted to get some training done with James, or something like that. And Megan had literally jumped at the chance to go to the movies when Kurt asked her.

It was funny. If one hadn't known better you'd say there were on a triple date. Kurt and Kitty stuck pretty close, Will had his arm around Elise, and it was almost as if Megan was refusing to leave Scott's side.

"You want anything to eat or drink?" Scott asked as they came up to the concession stand.

"A coke?" Megan asked with a shrug.

"Ow! Hey!" Elise yelled as some guy bumped into her from behind. It was none other than everyone's favorite person, Toad, with the rest of the Brotherhood not far behind him.

"Sorry toots." Todd said with a mock salute.

"Oh no, you idiots again." Will said with a sigh.

"What was that blue hair?" Lance asked turning to face Will.

"Hey!" Kurt shouted in protest.

"Everybody calm down." Scott said stepping in. "We don't want any trouble."

"Well we do." Pietro said with a grin.

"Not here." Elise said shaking her head.

"Why not?" Fred asked loudly.

"You want a challenge?" Will asked.

"Yeah." Lance said with a strong nod.

"Lance!" Kitty yelled.

"You got it, me and my friends versus you and yours. You say where, I say when." Will said with a smirk.

"The Park." Lance said with a smirk.

"Ten o'clock tonight work?" Will asked.

"You got it." Lance said with a nod.

Will offered his hand for a shake, but Lance just walked away. "Ten it is then."

"You can't fight them." Scott cut in.

"We can, and we will, and you will butt out. This isn't your fight." Will said looking over to Scott.

"Let's just go and enjoy the movie." Megan said with a smile. "Scott? Where do you want to sit?"

"I don't care." Scott said with a shrug.

"Back row it is then." Megan said with a nod.

**VVVV**

"What do you think?"

"Handsome."

"I feel like I'm in a straight jacket."

"If they could find a straight jacket to fit you it would be amazing."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"That you're muscles are bigger than most people make shirts."

James laughed as he stepped back into the changing stall. Rebecca had taken him shopping for a tux. "Maybe I should just get one tailored."

"You'll probably have to." Rebecca said with a nod.

"Then why are we wasting our time here?" James asked slightly annoyed.

"Because shopping is fun." Rebecca said with a smile.

"For you anyway. Personally I think you get more enjoyment out of it when you can watch me wriggle from the pain it causes me." James said as he threw a pair of slacks on top of the stall's door.

"See? You do know how my mind works." Rebecca said with a laugh.

"You're a cruel, cruel person." James said with a laugh.

"So have you thought any more about inviting your parents?" Rebecca asked cheerfully.

"We discussed this." James said, obviously annoyed. "I told you that it's not happening."

"No, we didn't discuss it, you just refuse to entertain the idea." Rebecca said with a shake of her head.

"Becca." James said sternly stepping out in his normal clothes, a pair of jeans and a black muscle t-shirt.

"Jimmy." Rebecca said with a smile.

"Don't call me that." He said shaking his head.

Rebecca laughed.

**VVVV**

Danielle, Evan, Mike, Jean, Hank, and Ororo were all in the living room. Danielle, Evan, Mike, and Jean were on the couch, while Hank and Ororo sat on the two-seat couch angled to see the T.V. The lights in the living room were out, and Shakespeare played on the screen.

In the other room Nathan stood playing pool with Logan. The most social he'd been in a long while. The gloves didn't get in the way too much. "You're good." Nathan said with a smirk as Logan sunk a ball into the side pocket.

"I've had a lot of practice." Logan said gruffly.

"I guessed." Nathan said with a nod.

"You mind if I smoke?" Logan asked pulling out a cigar.

"Be my guest." Nathan said as Logan took another shot but missed.

Logan lit up his cigar and took a puff as Nathan lined up his shot.

"So how long do you think the professor will leave her there?" Nathan asked looking over to Logan.

"Until he thinks she's ready to come here." Logan said with a nod. "Better not to question his decisions."

"Why? What's the difference between her and me? Or even you?" Nathan asked as he sunk his shot.

"I don't know. The professor does. Take it up with him." Logan said with a nod.

"He won't answer me. But he thinks that I'm helping her improve. Whatever that means." Nathan said with a shrug.

"And maybe she's helping you." Logan added.

"I thought you were supposed to do that." Nathan said as he missed his shot.

"Only so much I can say and do. But you get a girl like her, or Rogue, and they can help you a lot more than any teacher." Logan said as he blew out a puff of smoke. "Real life, she's the best teacher."

"Or Rogue?" Nathan asked sarcastically.

"Even I've seen it." Logan said with a smirk. "Look around you kid."

"Don't call me that." Nathan quipped. "And I have looked, I'm not interested."

"Mind if I ask why?" Logan asked as he took a shot and sunk it.

"I don't see the point in getting involved with someone that I can't be with." Nathan said almost sadly.

"Why don't you get outside, enjoy the spring day?" Logan asked.

"Because I'd rather shoot pool. And sunlight turns the toxins on my skin into a powder if I stay out in it too long. Especially when it's warm like this." Nathan answered.

"Damn kid, you even make me depressed." Logan said. "I need a beer."

**VVVV**

"What are you working on?" Rogue asked coming into the library, where John was sitting and working at a laptop computer.

"I'm writing an email to my dad." John said with a nod as he returned his attention to the computer.

"To your dad? I thought you and Will ran away from home?" Rogue asked curiously.

"Ran away? No. Left? Yes." John said as he typed. "Will and our father didn't get along to well. Neither did I and mom." John explained. "We left about two years ago."

"And you've been writing to them all this time?" Rogue asked cautiously.

"No. I've only been writing to them for about six months. Will doesn't know." John said turning his attention to Rogue. "And I prefer to keep it that way."

"Why?" Rogue asked, slightly confused.

"He doesn't want to go back home." John said as he returned his attention to the computer.

"And you do?" She asked.

"Eventually, yes." John said with a nod. "I didn't mind our old life. I enjoyed it. But if Will were have to run off by himself he wouldn't have lasted ten minutes."

"Ah see." Rogue said with a nod.

"I might not always agree with my brother, or even always like my brother, but we are still brothers. He would give me his life if I asked it, and I would give mine for him." John explained.

"Loyal." Rogue commented.

"It's the way we were raised I suppose." John said as he shut the computer down. "Will's due back in a few minutes. And a few of us were planning on going out for dinner. You want to join us?" John asked, almost hopefully. "Joe's coming."

Rogue paused for a second. "Sure." She said finally with a strong nod. "Why not."

**END **

**Author's Note: Reviews are always nice. I know a whole lot didn't happen in this chapter, it was more for development than movement, if you know what I mean. But the next chapter has a lot of moving plot. Including the big fight!**

**Coming Soon… Chapter 20: Fight! Fight! Fight!**


	20. Fight! Fight! Fight!

**Mark C:** Can't wait to see the fight huh? Well now you don't have to wait any longer.

**Ranndie Mazda:** Here's the fight, and here's the dinner. Enjoy!

**AntiClownOutsiders: **That is perhaps the most interesting review I have ever read. Seriously.

**Jp3711nc:** Thanks, and yes, the Morlocks are going to be in it, but not for a while now.

**Author's Note: I'm sorry that this took so long to get up. I broke my hand in the beginning of May, and I've been working on this little bit by little bit. As an official apology to all my readers and reviewers I'm making this chapter extra long.**

**Chapter 20: Fight, Fight, Fight!**

**Trenton, New Jersey, Marvin's Motorcycle Repair, 10:00 PM, Friday.**

A young twenty something man dressed in spiked leather was closing up shop; behind him waited a teenager of about the same build, and dressed in similar leather clothes. "Come on Mat, hurry up. Sara and Michelle aren't going to wait forever." The teen said as he leaned against the outside wall.

Mat came out of the shop and locked the door behind him. "Patience Mark, the girls are meeting up at the theater. I've just got to make a quick stop at my place first." He said as he got on the Harley Davidson parked in front of the store. "Did you want a ride?"

"I've got that heap of junk my dad calls a car. I'll meet you there." Mark answered.

"Fine." Mat said before the Harley roared to life. He ripped out of the parking lot and was off down the street in minutes. The city streets were almost bare; no one really went riding around the gang areas at this time of night. Mat's helmet kept his hair from whipping in the winds save for the very ends that stuck out of the helmet.

Within minutes he was back at his apartment. "Junk, bill, junk, junk, oh hey my comic book, bill…" He said as he went through his mailbox and headed up the stairs to his apartment. Upon reaching the third floor he went to the third door on the left.

His door was slightly beaten up, and when he opened it he had to be careful not to break the hinges. His apartment was revealed to be nothing more than a two-room place. A small junky bedroom off to the right and separated by a half wall, a bathroom to the left, and directly a head was a sink and a table.

He threw the mail on the table as he came into his apartment, he unzipped his jacket, and it was then that he noticed that his message machine was blinking. He hit the button and then continued to get changed.

"Hey Mat, this is Sean. Harris came in today looking for you. Call me if you get the chance." The machine clicked as he put on a clean shirt.

"Hey bro! What's up? It's me Becky! Y'know, your little sister?" Mat looked up at the machine. "Well, I've got good news. I wanted to talk to you in person but since you're not there I'll just say it. I'm getting married!" Mat choked. "I know. I'll call you back. I'm staying at this place in Bayville." The machine clicked again.

He stared at it in disbelief. "Who could she be getting married to…?" He asked with a pause. "King." He smirked. "Well I'll be."

Bayville, Rocco's Pizza Place, 9:00 P.M., Saturday 

Rogue, Joe, John, Amara, Will, and Elise all sat at a circular table in the dining room of this pizza place and Italian resturaunt. The dining room was fairly empty except for them and their waitress that kept coming in and out. Red and white designs and checkered table clothes everywhere.

"And that's why we've got to show up." Will said, finishing his little monologue about why they had to fight the brotherhood that night.

"I don't like it." John said shaking his head. "Even with me and you and Joe. We don't have Chris. You don't want to tell James. We're under manned, we don't have our field leader, we'll get our butts handed to us."

Joe looked to Rogue but she didn't say anything. "We have to fight. If we don't they won't rest until they get what they're after." Joe said shaking his head. "Our best bet is to let the X-Men in on it. They know our opponents, they're strengths, weaknesses, everything."

"No. Scott is totally against it and the professor will never let it happen." Will said shaking his head. "This is something we need to do."

"The three of us, against Lance, Pietro, the frog, and the big guy, and that girl they hang with?" Joe asked. "We're simply out numbered."

"What about us?" Amara asked, looking to Rogue. "You guys just keep talking like we're not even here."

"I'm sorry." Will said shaking his head. "But this is kind of personal."

"What about the girls in your group?" Amara asked.

"Well, no offense Elise, but the female Warrior's powers aren't exactly combat oriented. We'll end up trying to save them, or they'll end up getting hurt." John said shaking his head.

"Well that's kind of sexist." Rogue said with a glance to Joe.

"No." Elise said shaking her head. "It's the truth. Megan, Danielle, and I don't have any training in fighting and our powers are more strategic than any of the guys'. Grace and Rebecca are the only ones useful for that sort of thing."

"And we can't tell Rebecca cause she'll tell James." Will said with a nod.

"So what about Grace? She'd jump at the chance." John said. "She'd probably be more enthusiastic about it then you Will."

"You're probably right." Will conceded. "So we'll ask Grace then."

"But we're still out numbered." Joe pointed out.

"What about Nathan or Mike?" Rogue asked looking to John.

"I'd sooner ask Elise or Megan." Will said shaking his head. "No offense to Mike, but I can't see him being of any use in battle, and Nathan won't do it. Besides, we don't want anyone ending up dead."

"I've got some decent powers." Amara said glancing to Rogue. "And Rogue knows how to handle herself."

"True." Will said thoughtfully. "But, and no offense, I want just the Warriors to do this. We'll have to do it without our full force, that's all."

"But then our team work is all screwed up." Joe said shaking his head. "Without James we don't have a leader, and without Jessica, Chris, and Rebecca some of our maneuvers are undoable. We're cut off at the knees."

"We'll just have to make due." Will said shaking his head.

"I don't like it." Joe said glancing to Rogue.

Xavier's Institute for Gifted Youngsters, 10:00 PM 

"Where are the guys?" James asked as he came into the living room with his arm around his fiancé. Ororo sat on the couch reading a book of some kind, and most of the lights except for the one next to her were off, making the room dark except for that one spot of light.

"I think a few of them went out on a group date." Ororo said with a smile as she looked up from the book she was reading. "They said that they wouldn't be back until late."

"I wonder why they didn't ask us to go." Rebecca asked looking to James.

James shrugged. "I dunno." He paused. "Will you excuse me for a second?" He asked looking to Rebecca.

She nodded and he ran off as she sat down on the couch next to Ororo.

"How are the wedding plans coming along?" Ororo asked with a smile.

"So far so good." Rebecca nodded. "Elise and I picked out the bridesmaid's dresses. James is getting a tux by the end of the week. I've ordered the invitations, and other things of that sort. There's still a lot of work to do, and James hasn't even picked a best man."

Ororo smiled. "Well he is rather close with the younger members of the group. Who do you think he'll pick?

"To be honest I think he's closest to Will. But he knows better than to put Will in charge of the bachelor party." Rebecca said with a laugh. "I honestly don't know. I don't think he's thought about it since Zack killed Jessica. To be honest I don't blame him." She paused. "You know I really didn't think it would work out when James and I first got together."

"How did you and he get together?" Ororo asked.

Rebecca nodded. "It's a long story."

"Well I've got no where to go." Ororo said as she set down her book.

"Okay." Rebecca started. "I don't tell many people this but I grew up in Jersey, but ran away from home when I was sixteen. Originally I went to Philadelphia, but I made my way to Chicago. My mutation had already manifested, but I didn't know that there were other people like me. That was at least until I met a guy by the name of Zachary Johnson." She paused.

"Go on." Ororo said with a reaffirming nod.

"He recruited me I guess you could say, into his all mutant inner circle of this gang. He took me back to this place he called the Palace, It was a pizza place, and introduced me to the other members, one of which was late. There was Johnny Namui, Jeremy Claus, Ashley Valentine, and David McHel." She took a breath. "In the order that I met them. And then there was of course Zachary, the latecomer, and myself. The latecomer turned out to a be a big muscular guy the others all called 'King.' By the way the others treated him I thought he was the leader, but I was wrong. He turned out to be just Zack's enforcer. Well after talking with him a few times, and getting to know him, after a few months, James asked me out. A particularly odd date to be honest, he asked if I wanted to come to his place sometime for dinner with him and his sister."

"Jessica?" Ororo asked.

"Yes." Rebecca nodded. "But even though I was a mutant myself, I had yet to meet a mutant whose mutation was physical." She explained. "And James gave me, no warning."

"What happened?" Ororo asked curiously.

"Well I freaked out. Definitely not one of my prouder moments, but James calmed me down, and explained it to me, and apologized, and we had dinner. One of the worst dinners I've ever had mind you, and then he walked me home." Rebecca said with a smile. "Not one of the best dates I ever went on, but the company was good, and the conversation wonderful. James and I grew rather close. Until about a year or so later."

"What?" Ororo asked raising a brow.

"Well James and Zack had a big falling out, and the other members of the inner circle got pretty involved. James ended up faking his own death, but in order to protect himself, and me, he didn't tell me. I thought he was dead. He blew up this huge warehouse, and I was the only one to meet his sister. I knew something was up when she wasn't at his apartment." Rebecca paused for a breath. "The team fell apart. We all split up and ran in different directions. I headed to New York City, where my brother was living at the time, and eventually ran into James again at an arcade."

"What'd you do?" Ororo asked almost excitedly, now obviously getting into the story.

"Well at first I didn't believe it was him, but when he saw me, he looked directly into my eyes, and then I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt it was him. Thomas had approached him before then and he had joined this new group, I joined up too, and here we are, now engaged." Rebecca said with a smile.

"Sounds romantic." Ororo stated with a smile.

**Meanwhile**

Kitty was walking down the hall, more than likely on her way to her room, when she passed by the open library door, and the most beautiful music she'd ever heard hit her ears. She stopped in her tracks when singing suddenly joined the music. Perhaps the most angelic voice she'd ever heard. It was a woman's voice, a soprano, the notes were so beautiful, and it was almost tangible.

Then the woman's voice was joined by a man's, singing in tenor. Before she knew it she was standing in the library. The professor was sitting in his wheelchair by the lit fireplace, and Danielle stood by the closed grand piano with a CD player resting atop it. The music and the singing jolted to a sudden halt as Danielle hit the stop button. Both turned and looked at Kitty.

It was like she'd been shaken awake or something, she didn't know what to do or say. "Uh…" Kitty started.

"It's okay Kitty. Come in. Danielle was just allowing me to listen to some of her earlier singing." The professor explained.

"That was you singing on the CD?" Kitty asked, almost shocked.

Danielle nodded silently.

"That was amazing!" Kitty jumped excitedly. "Sing something for us!"

"I can't." Danielle answered, rather mater-of-fact-ly.

"Kitty…" The professor started.

"Oh don't be shy!" Kitty said excitedly, trying to convince her to sing.

"No, I mean I can't." Danielle said as she raised up her chin. "Artificial vocal cords have their limits."

"Oh." Kitty said, now feeling embarrassed, and somewhat ashamed. "I-I'm sorry… I…"

"It's alright." Danielle said with a nod.

"Out of curiosity, who's was the male voice that was singing?" The professor asked.

"That was my boyfriend. Evan." Danielle said with a slight smile. "He lives in Canada now."

"You were both quite good." The professor said with a nod. "Did you take lessons?"

"Mr. Robaldi taught me to sing." Danielle answered. "Or at least he taught me how to use my talents. You met him when you were in New York. It was his music center that we used a lot."

"Amazing." The professor responded. "Perhaps sometime you'll allow me to listen to the whole CD?"

"Sure." Danielle took the CD out of the player. "You can listen to it later if you want." She said as she handed it to him.

"Thank you." The professor said with a nod.

Mike was the next to break into the conversation, he'd been watching Shakespeare with Beast all day but that was finally over so the other people could use the living room. "Have any of you seen Jean?" He asked looking over to the professor.

"I believe she's in the kitchen with Scott, Nathan, and Grace." The professor answered.

"Thanks." Mike said with a nod.

**The Kitchen**

"So what exactly do you eat anyway?" Jean asked looking over to Nathan. "I mean if you can't eat anything organic…"

Nathan shrugged. "I have no idea." He said shaking his head. "Tom made a concoction that seems to be able to withstand the acid inside my saliva that is digestible in my system, it took a long while to get it right though."

"What did you eat before then?" Scott asked looking over to Nathan. All of them were sitting around the kitchen table. Scott and Jean had dinner on their plates, of some sort of meat loaf and mashed potatoes. Grace had a salad, and Nathan had a can of something or other.

"I didn't." Nathan said shaking his head. "I was getting a bit weaker physically, but for a year or so I didn't have any incoming nutrients. I underwent some tests and found that I'm more like a plant in that respect. I can absorb light and nutrients from the atmosphere, and convert it into energy, but that gives me less energy and nutrients then when I actually eat food. So I still need food, I can just go without it if I wanted to."

"Interesting." Scott said with a slight nod.

"And what about you?" Jean asked looking over to Grace. "Your whole time here I don't think we've ever really talked about you, or your mutation or your past."

"I'm not some THING to be talked about." Grace said as she ate her salad. "I have excellent balance, I had a rather normal growing up life in Pennsylvania, and I like the color blue." She smiled. "Me in a nutshell."

"Okay…" Jean said a little hesitantly.

"Hey Grace. Phone for you. I think it's Elise." Mike said as he came into the kitchen.

"Thanks." Grace smiled as she stood up. "I'll get it in the hall."

**A Payphone at the Park**

A man stood in a telephone booth just outside Bayville's public park. "I set everything up. No need to worry." He said speaking into the phone. "Did you pick up those gangsters?" He asked the man on the other line. "Good." He said with a devilish smile. "My employer will be arriving here soon, the rest of us are already here and waiting." He paused. "Good. Don't worry. We'll see what they're capable of."

**James' Room at Xavier's**

James was changing his shirt in his bedroom, a rather large one-bed room that was his for now. Soon the thought came to him that Rebecca would be joining him here. Or would she? Maybe that would move out and get their own place. Or maybe there was like a special room for any married couples. Maybe he would move into her room. But now wasn't the time to think about that.

The message light on his phone was blinking, so he hit the button. "Hey Jimmy. It's me. I finally managed to meet the kid, introduced myself. I don't think he's all that interested though. I'll have to call you back, some guy's trying to- (click)." The phone cut off.

James raised a brow and then shrugged. "Well, he'll call me back. But right now I've got to go talk to Rebecca." He said aloud to himself as he left his room.

**Brotherhood Boarding House**

"Are we seriously going to do this?" Tabby asked as she came down the stairs.

"Of course we are." Pietro said as he zipped into the living room.

"We ain't cowards. We're going to thrash those geeks." Lance said with a scowl on his face.

"I don't know…" Toad said a bit hesitantly, explaining himself when he got disapproving glares from Lance, Fred, and Pietro. "I mean remember that Chris kid? Maybe they call themselves 'Warriors' for a reason."

"Oh don't be such a baby." Lance said with a smirk. "This might even be easy."

**Bayville Public Park, 11:50 P.M**

"So where do you think they are?" Will asked as he, John, Joe, and Grace entered the park. With Rogue, Amara, and Elise following somewhat behind.

Will was dressed in jeans and a t-shirt, but without socks or shoes. John was opposite, with fancy shoes, khaki pants, and a silk button down collar shirt. Joe was in jeans, a pocket t-shirt, with an open button down long sleeve shirt, and a pair of gloves. And grace was in some Capri pants and a belly shirt.

"I'm sure they'll be here." John said as he looked around.

"If they're not here by ten after is it safe to say they didn't show and just go home?" Joe asked. He really wasn't looking forward to this fight as much as the others.

"We'll see." Will said shaking his head.

Suddenly the jeep pulled up behind that them Amara and Rogue recognized. "They're here." Rogue said looking to Will.

"Good." Will said with a smile. "Let's get this done."

The group gathered in a rather large clearing in the center of the park with some larger trees on the edges and a smaller tree in the center of the clearing.

And eventually the Brotherhood came into view. Just around the bend and into the clearing of the center of the park. It was completely deserted. As was normal for this time of night in this town.

"What the…?" Will, Joe, John, and Grace were laughing so hard, that Amara was so confused. She looked over to the Brotherhood. She couldn't see what they were laughing at; it was just the brotherhood, in their combat uniforms, ready to fight.

"What are you wearing?" Will asked between outbursts of laughter. "You look like you've got a salad bowl on your head!"

Lance scowled. "They're called uniforms!"

"And you call us geeks?" John asked after regaining his composure. "This is going to be easier than I thought."

"Oh yeah?" Lance yelled. The ground beneath them began to shake. John leaped up, a good fifty or so feet into the air, and landed on a rather tall tree, up in the branches. Will did the same thing; only he climbed, sticking to the tree with his bare hands and feet. Grace flipped backwards avoiding the moving earth through a series of gymnastics, and Joe just stood there and took it.

Lance smirked. "See that was enough to send you all running."

Pietro laughed along with Freddy and Tabby.

"Our turn?" Joe asked with a slight smirk on his face. "Come here speedy. Or should I call you lightning with those little stripes on your pajamas?"

Pietro was running at him already, quick as lightning, but Joe's glove was already off. Catching Pietro off guard he punched him in the face as he ran towards him, knocking him down and having blood come from his opponents nose. The girls who were watching, Elise, Rogue, and Amara all winced and looked away.

But now there stood two Pietros one dressed in a 'combat uniform' the other in regular clothes. The one on the ground holding his nose as he stood back up. And the one who was cracking his knuckles as he watched the other stand up. "Ready for a second round?" It was like this Joe was nothing like the one they'd met before, this one wasn't shy, or timid, or friendly, or scared of fighting. This one was out for blood.

Lance made the tree that Will was in fall to the ground, and ran along it as it fell to the base of the trunk and then leapt off with rather gymnastic qualities and landed in front of Lance with a smirk.

John was teasing Tabby and Fred as he landed in front of them with a bow from the tree he had been in. "Care to try your luck?" He asked as he cocked his head.

Tabby smirked and made a rather large bomb, pausing a second before she threw it. What were this guy's powers again? Throwing it she released her mistake when he merely held out a hand and the very bomb she launched was thrown back at her in mid air, exploding in the stomach of the Blob.

Blob smirked. "I think I'll try." He said as he started forward.

John smirked as the giant ran towards him. "The bigger they are." He said with a smirk. "I can't believe I'm going to use this quote." He leaped up at the last second and would've landed on the Blob's head but launched a second field, which propelled him in the air, and then hit the blob and knocked him forward into the dirt. Hard. "The Harder they fall." Blob got up and spit out a rather large mouthful of dirt.

Grace and Toad were having fun as well, swinging, jumping, flipping and fighting through the trees. But Grace had one thing over Toad. She knew martial arts. Giving him a rather hard kick to the stomach both landed on the ground. "Ready to give up?" She asked not really meaning it.

"Sure." Toad said before his tongue came out, and wrapped itself around her ankle, pulling back and bringing her to the ground. Quickly he leapt up and on top of her, placing his hands on her shoulders and pinning her to the ground. "How about you?"

"Nah." Quickly she rolled them up and reversed the situation. "Unlike your group seems to be, we're not afraid of Violence." She raised her fist to punch him in the face, but she was ripped back by Quicksilver, who was suddenly knocked to the ground by another Quicksilver.

Toad spit a wad of slime at her and knocked her down again, but again the Quicksilvers were going at it at super speed, punching, running, zipping, blocking each other. "Had enough?" The one dressed in regular clothes asked the other.

"Never." Quicksilver answered arrogantly. Smirking they both went back at it.

Lance was getting aggravated at this point; he couldn't seem to get his hands on Will. They'd left the clearing now, and were in and amongst the trees. Will was like a squirrel, he kept climbing and disappearing, Lance couldn't get to him. "Get down here!"

"As you wish." Said a voice from behind him, turning he was kicked to the ground and his helmet flew off as Will drop kicked him.

Lance shook his head. "Ow… This isn't right! That's not how the X-Men fight!"

"They don't fight. They use their powers to stop you from fighting and using yours. We don't do that. We have one way to win a fight. Hit them until they stop." Will said with a smirk. That wasn't true, that wasn't their only tactic, but this had been Joe's plan, to scare them, to shake them awake. And it was working. Quicksilver was bleeding from his nose, and was going to have several bruises. Tabby was already a little roughed up, and Toad was screaming like a banshee and doing everything he could to stay away from Grace.

"Get back here!" Grace yelled as she ran after him.

Quicksilver looked over to Toad seeing him ran away shook his head. "Enough of this." He said with a smirk, and zipped off, passing Toad in the retreat.

Blob was still roaring and ready to go, just getting Angry at John who kept leaping up and avoiding him, but Tabby grabbed him and led him away, they didn't want to get hurt, but they were. The Warriors were actually fighting. Fist to fist.

Lance stood up, all alone. With a hateful glare in his eyes to Will.

"Get going while you still can. Or should I call John over here to break your legs?" Will asked with a mean little smirk on his face.

"I'll do it." Quicksilver's voice said behind him. Turning Lance saw that it was Pietro wearing Joe's clothes, or in better words, it was Joe in a copy of Quicksilver's body.

Lance shook his head. "Forget this."

**Xavier's Mansion**

"What can I do for ya?" Logan asked as he answered the door, looking to a rather punk-looking twenty something guy, who's Harley was parked in the driveway.

"Hey. I'm looking for a Rebecca Holden?" The man said with a smile.

"Who are you?" Logan asked a little shortly.

"Oh, just tell her that the god of war is here to see her." Mat said with a smile.


	21. Consequences

**Author's Note: Okay. Since everyone's been asking for longer chapters, I'm giving you longer chapters. Each and every chapter will be just about as long as the last one, give or take a little bit. You guys like the change?**

**Flapjack101: **Thanks. I'll do my best to keep up the good work.

**Way to Evil: **Legend of the Dragon might take a while to update. I've been working on it though.

**Mark C:** Everyone is getting along nicely, but some relationships are begin to strain a bit, so you can never be completely sure what'll happen. And thank you for your long reviews. Seriously, I love them. They're really, really helpful and encouraging. I'm glad to see that my long absence with my broken hand hasn't made me loose too many readers.

**Kimi Kaida: **I'm sorry it's taking me so long to post these. I'm busy in RL during the summer months, and I've been away from home for the past few weeks. I hope this was fast enough for you.

**Jp3711nc:** Thanks. I really appreciate the words of encouragement.

**Chapter 21: Consequences**

Logan walked into the living room where Ororo, James, and Rebecca were sitting and talking with each other. A young twenty-something man followed not far behind him. "Hey Rebecca. Looks like you got company. Some guy blabbing about a god of war?"

Rebecca looked up rather quickly and jumped as she saw the young man behind Logan. "Ares!" She squealed with delight as they both embraced. You could tell they were brother and sister, they were both dressed like biker's, leather vests, t-shirts, jeans, boots, and of course gloves. Spiked leather seemed to be in style again.

"Becca!" He yelled giving her a hug. "This machine in my apartment told me you were getting married!" He said looking over Rebecca to James who was now standing next to the couch. "I'm guessing this is the unlucky groom?"

"No. I'm the lucky one." James said with a slight smirk.

"Good answer." Rebecca looked to James and then looked back to her brother with a disapproving glare.

"I was just kidding." Ares said apologizing.

"Logan, Ororo, I'd like you to meet my brother, Ares Mathias Holden." Rebecca said gesturing to her brother.

"Call me Mat. Most people do. Only Becca here calls me Ares." Ares said with a nod.

"Now I get the god of war thing." Logan said with a slight smirk.

Ororo smiled. "It's nice to meet you Mat."

"And Ares this is Mrs. Munroe and Logan." Rebecca said as she gestured to each of them as she said their names.

"You can call me Ororo." Storm said with a slight smile.

"Nice to meet you both." Ares said with a nod.

"So what are you doing here anyway?" Rebecca asked looking to him.

"Well you said you were getting married, so I thought that reason enough to try and track you down. Tracked you here. Google is amazing." He laughed.

"How long do you plan on staying?" Rebecca asked curiously.

"I don't know. A few days maybe, then I figure I'll head back down to Jersey and then come up for the wedding." He smirked. "Still can't believe you're getting hitched."

"Why is it so hard to believe?" Rebecca asked mockingly offended.

"It's not… I'm just happy for you." He said and looked to James. "For you both that is. Congrats man. I hope you realized you bagged quite a catch."

James nodded. "You bet I did." He said putting his arm around Rebecca. "Ain't a finer fish in the sea."

Ororo smiled. "How sweet." She said glancing to Logan who was rolling his eyes.

Logan smirked, he couldn't take much more of this. "Will you be staying here or…?" He asked looking to Ares.

"Well I haven't planned that far ahead yet. I guess I could stay here or find a hotel somewhere." Ares answered with a shrug.

Rebecca smiled. "He'll stay here." She said determined. "Come on, I'll show you the kitchen, and we have some talking to do." She smiled.

"Do I have a choice?" He asked quite seriously.

"No." She smiled. "James you can stay here if you want."

"I understand." James said as he sat back down.

Rebecca grabbed Ares' arm and brushed past Logan and headed down the hall towards the kitchen.

James smirked as Logan came into the living room a bit. "So… Is he a mutant?"

"Yeah." James answered. "He and Rebecca aren't terribly close. Not like me and…" He stopped. "But they are family, it's a little complicated. But he isn't gonna sell you out or anything. He's got a good heart."

"What's his mutation?" Ororo asked sitting back down on the couch.

"It's a little complicated to explain…" James started. "To be honest I have no idea how to explain it even in it's simplest. You'd have to see it."

"Yeah well I'll look forward to that." Logan said shaking his head a bit. "I'm going to bed." And with that he left, leaving only James and Ororo in the living room.

"I think I'll stop reading for now." Ororo said before she left as well. She was tired and it was nearing 12:30.

"I wonder where Will and the rest of them are… Curfew is past." James said to himself as he turned on the television.

** Later**

As the warriors returned to the Institute they entered it warily. They were roughly an hour past curfew, and they knew that James wasn't going to let them off the hook. He never did. They're only hope was that he was asleep. But that hope seemed to be unfounded, there sitting on the couch in the living room was James, reading a book.

"Hey guys. Back a little late aren't you?" James asked looking over to Will, John, Grace, Rogue, Elise, and Amara. "Where's Joe? I thought he went with you."

"He did." John nodded. "But he ran up to his room. He was pretty tired."

"I see." James nodded as he stood up. "You realize you're an hour late right? You want to try and give me a reason?"

"We lost track of time." Will said with a shrug. "It won't happen again."

"You know these aren't my rules right? I mean if it were up to me you'd be allowed out 'till noon if you wanted. Mess up your own lives and learn the hard way if you want." James said shaking his head.

Will smiled. "I know."

"So where were you?" James asked again.

"We went out for dinner." Will answered.

"Yeah? Where?" James asked curiously.

"Rocco's Pizza Place." Will answered.

"Oh that's a great place." James said. "I didn't realize they had such dirty floors."

Will was confused for a second, until he looked at his own clothes and some of the others' clothes. Dirt was everywhere from the shockwave from Avalanche. Especially on their pants, and Grace had some green slime on her shirt.

"You've got less then a minute to tell me the truth. Or I'll get one of those powerful telepaths in here, and you can try and lie your way past them." James said grimly. "Any of you care to tell me the truth?"

John was the first to speak up. "We got into a fight."

"With each other? With Joe?" James asked for clarification.

"With the Brotherhood." Elise answered.

"Mind telling me why you went and fought them when I told you not to?" James asked looking particularly to Will.

"We had to." Will said. "They kept asking for it, and they started something at the movies."

"I'm sure that seemed like a good reason at the time. But it didn't sound very well thought out right then." James answered, surprisingly calm. "Rogue and Amara I can't speak for, but Will, John, Grace, Elise, and even Joe if he had any part in this, are all grounded."

"Grounded? But-." Will started but James cut him off.

"Grounded." James nodded. "You go to school, and you come here, no T.V., no computers, no phone for you girls, and no outings or parties for two weeks. And the next time you feel like getting into a fight, come and see me."

"But that's so unfair!" Will argued.

"Yes it is. But if I let Logan give you a punishment it'd be fair. It'd be justice for you. But I'm sure you don't want that." James threatened. "Do you? Cause I can go wake him up."

"No." Will said sourly.

"Now get to bed all of you. I'll talk to the professor in the morning. If you want it I'm making breakfast tomorrow before Becca and I leave for church. Stop by the kitchen." James offered as the young teens trudged off towards their respective rooms.

**VVVV**

Will made it back to his room slowly, and carefully opened the door. Quietly as he could he crept over to his bed. His roommate, Nightcrawler, seemed to be off to sleep, his clothes everywhere and his tail swishing across the sheets. "He's always so hard to see in the shadows." Will said shaking his head.

"Vhat?" Kurt asked sitting up a bit.

"Sorry I didn't mean to wake you." Will apologized as he took off his shirt and threw it into the hamper.

"It's okay. I vas awake anyvay, I'm having trouble getting to sleep for some reason." Kurt said shaking his head.

"Oh. Try listening to some music. Usually helps John. Warm Milk helps me. Shoulder rub helps Elise, but if you want that last one I suggest you go find some girl to give you one." Will said with a slight smirk as he took off his jeans and put on his pajama pants.

"Milk sounds nice." Kurt said. "I think I'll pop into z'he kitchen and grab a glass."

"Go ahead." Will said with a nod, but before he finished his sentence he was cut off by the sound of a bamf, and a cloud of smoke remained on Kurt's bed.

**VVVV**

"So you and Sarah-." Rebecca was cut off as a large BAMFing sound came on the table right next to her and Ares.

"Sorry." Kurt said as he got off the table and Rebecca and Ares waved away the smoke. "I just vanted some milk."

"It's okay." Rebecca said coughing a bit.

"Who's z'his guy?" Kurt asked as his tail opened the fridge and got out the milk gallon.

"Kurt this is my brother Mat. Mat, this is Kurt." Rebecca said making the introductions.

"Nice to meet you Kurt." Mat said with a slight smile. "Interesting abilities you got there."

"Thank you. It's nice to meet you too. I take it you are a also a mutant." Kurt said with a slight nod as he got a glass out of the cabinet.

"Aye. Roulette some call me. I'll show you my powers later if I get the chance." Mat answered with a small smile.

"Sure z'hing." Kurt smiled as he poured his glass of milk. "I'll be leaving you two alone now. Good night."

"Good night Kurt." Rebecca said with a smile just before Kurt bamfed back into his room.

**Elsewhere**

A man dressed in a raggedy coat and a hat with a whole in sat besides a pile of trash, a homeless man, something unfortunately common in the world today. His fingerless gloves completed the illusion of poverty as he rubbed his frozen cold hands together.

"Castel?" A young looking Asian man dressed in a business suit asked as he looked down towards the can the man had sitting next to him.

"Aye." The homeless man answered, in a surprisingly strong voice.

"I believe we have business to discuss." The young man said with a slight smirk.

"Indeed we do." The homeless man smiled.

"Where would you like to meet?" The businessman asked.

"There's a pizza place across the street. Should do nicely." The homeless man said as he came to his feet.

**New York City**

"He's moved from here recently." One man said to another as he exited the Cyber Hub. "Mr. Walkner claims he's gone to a school in Bayville. A small suburbia in Massachusetts, somewhere near Boston."

"Are you serious Fenris?" The other asked as they began walking.

"Yeah." Fenris answered with a nod.

The two were obviously brothers; they looked somewhat alike, both with black hair. Fenris had long shoulder-length black hair, with jeans, a t-shirt, and boots. He was taller by about three inches, and broader in build with more muscles. The other had short but fluffy black hair, a trench coat that covered his jeans and t-shirt, and boots. He was shorter and skinnier than Fenris, but both looked rather… intimidating.

"You think he knows anything about Leif?" The other asked looking over to his brother.

"He might. We have to find him, and find out." Fenris answered. "I wonder if he's been in touch with anyone else from the Mystyks."

"Possibly." The other said with a nod.

Xavier Institute for Gifted Youngsters that Next Morning 

"Good morning." Michael said to Nathan as the two met in the hall. "It's Sunday. Are you going out with the professor again?"

Nathan nodded. "Yeah."

"Where do you two go anyway?" Mike asked curiously.

"I can't say. And you probably already know." Nathan answered.

"Don't worry about it. Even if I did know I'm sure I wouldn't understand." Mike said with a nod.

"You going to church with James and Rebecca?" Nathan asked.

"Not this week. I'm having… a bit of a headache." Michael answered.

"What about the rest of them?" Nathan asked.

"The guys are all asleep, and the only one from the X-Men that sometimes goes with was Kurt. But that was when Jessica went too." Michael answered.

Nathan was silent for a moment.

"I agree." Michael nodded.

"What?" Nathan asked looking to him with a pierced brow raised.

"Oh. Sorry." Michael said a bit sheepishly. "I thought you said that out loud. Everything's getting so mixed up."

"Maybe you should go take a nap." Nathan suggested.

Michael shook his head. "It won't work. I'm starting to pick up other people's dreams. I get less rest standing wide awake."

"You're getting worse? I thought Jean was working with you." Nathan asked.

"She was. Is." Michael corrected himself. "But… It's not exactly helping." He explained. "I don't know what to do."

"Talk to the professor." Nathan said. "He'll help you. He's like… the most powerful telepath in the world. Or at least that's what Thomas said."

"Yeah…" Michael paused. "It looks like I'm going to have to."

**Kitchen **

"Hey Kurt. Want some breakfast?" Spike asked as he held out a rather large box of cereal. Kurt had just entered the kitchen through the door and Spike was already sitting at the table as the morning sun shone onto the table through the window.

Kurt took it with his tail. "Ja." He said as he got a bowl from the cabinet. "Vhat's up?" He asked sitting down.

"This place is dead this morning." Spike answered.

"Ja. Vill is, or at least vas, still asleep." Kurt said as he ate some of his cereal.

"Word is some of them got home after curfew last night. All in trouble." Spike said with a shrug.

"I vonder vhat happened." Kurt said somewhat thoughtfully.

**Elsewhere**

"Welcome gentlemen. I'm sure you're curious as to why you're all gathered here." The voice came from a man shrouded in shadows, but the setting was easy enough to determine. It was morning outside, sure enough, but the only light in this room came from a single ceiling lamp above the table. Gathered around the table were many a person that looked important, and one that did not.

"Actually. We all know why we're gathered here. So why don't you just tell us what it is you want us to do? In detail." The one that looked out of place said.

"Relax Mr. Castel. First I want to introduce you all to those gathered around you." The one at the head of the table, the one shrouded in shadows, said with a slight smirk.

There were eight of them there. Three on each side of the table, one at the foot, and one at the head, the one at the head was shrouded in shadows, and the one at the foot looked like a homeless man in the midst of business men. "To your right Mr. Castel is Mr. Kazama, Mr. Byrd, and Jean-Luc."

He paused. "To your left is Mr. Lucard, then a man known only as Thanatos, and of course Mr. Namuras. And you will address me as Necros."

"So what are we waiting for?" Mr. Castel asked impatiently.

"They are gathering. We must wait until the gathering is complete. Then we begin the slaughter." Necros answered.

"What do you mean, 'they are gathering'? Who are they?" Mr. Lucard asked as he leaned into the light. His hat blocked the light, but all one could see of him was his skeleton. He was a walking talking skeleton, who wore a suit.

"The Warriors, the X-men, the brotherhood, and a few others that have begun to gather, Roulette, Lycan, Anthro. We take out the reserves first. Then we take out the ones in New York, and then take any other stragglers in this country." Necros answered.

"Problem." The one named Thanatos said as he stood up. "The one called Wolverine can't die."

"Then we imprison him." Necros said with a smirk. "I didn't work for that fool that calls himself 'magneto' for nothing." He paused and took a rather dramatic breath. "Now go, the time to strike will be soon, and I will give the signal."

**The Gardens of the Xavier Institute**

The professor and Ororo were out walking in the gardens, the wintertime lingered, and the chill breeze blew against the professor's blanket as Ororo pushed the wheelchair. The trees were still bare, and the flowers were not yet growing. Ororo smiled, this garden was beautiful, even in the winter.

"I think that even the new students have adjusted well now. They all seem to be settling down, and have recovered from the incident involving Jessica." The professor commented.

"I agree." Ororo said with a smile. "Though a few of them are having more trouble adjusting than others."

"I assume you're talking about Nathan?" The professor asked.

"Actually no. I was referring to Will and John." Ororo answered. "Will doesn't socialize much with those who aren't in the warriors, he tends to stick with people he already knows. And John seems to just keep to himself, or he socializes, but only in his brother's shadow."

"I hadn't noticed." The professor said thoughtfully. "What do you think of young Michael?"

"Well I know not to call him young Michael. He's much older than he looks. But I think he's fitting in well. With you and Jean helping him he should be able to control his powers in no time, and he and Jean seem to be getting along just like two peas in a pod." Ororo said with a smile.

"What of the girls?" The professor asked. "I haven't seen them do much socializing."

"Well Megan sticks with Scott when she can, or so I've noticed, and the other girls just tend to stick together, but that's how girls usually are." Ororo said with a slight smile. "They seem to blend with the other girls here, like kitty, and Rayne, just fine."

"I think you should take Kitty, Rayne, Rogue, Jean, Danielle, Grace, Elise, and Megan on a small field trip." The professor said with a slight smile as the two stopped at a small area in the gardens with a bench.

"Where to?" Ororo asked.

But she never got her answer. Nathan came out from the door. "I'm ready when you are professor." Nathan said with a slight nod.

"Okay." The professor said with a smirk. "We'll talk later Ororo." He said with a nod. "Logan is waiting for Nathan and I with the car out front."

**Inside**

"Where'd you hear that?" Joe asked as he and Rogue walked past the kitchen, wandering the halls together on their way to the library.

"Kitty told me." She answered.

"Well if Will stole Elise from John it's a story neither of them have told me." He said with a shrug. "They were closer to Chris though, and he probably told Kitty."

"You've got a brain after all." Rogue said sarcastically.

Joe smirked. "Hey Rogue…" He said pausing in his steps. "I was wondering…"

Rogue stopped and looked at him in the hall as she waited for him to finish what he was saying, though she could already guess what he was going to ask. And she didn't want him to ask it.

"Would you like to maybe, go out sometime, you and me, go and see a movie, maybe have some dinner?" Joe asked looking her directly in the eyes.

"Ah…" She paused. "Ah don't see the point in dating someone Ah can't touch…" She said a little weakly.

"Um… Hello." He said raising up his gloved hands in front of his face. "I can't touch either. And I didn't ask for a kiss, just for a dinner, and a movie. Think of it this way, you get good food, entertainment, all without having to pay a dime." He said with a slight laugh.

"Ah… Don't know…" Rogue said looking down; she had to break eye contact with him. "Let me think about it."

"Cool. Take as long as you like." Joe answered.

**Rogue and Kitty's Room**

_Dear Kitty,_

_Hey, how're things going there at the institute? Things are fine here so far. I found out my Uncle actually cleaned up his life a bit before he died. He must've struck it big. He owns this huge farm. The people in town here are okay. But I think some are better than others. There's this really weird kid, Clark, that seems to be suspicious of me, kind of… strange. I hope you're feeling okay. How're things with Lance? _

_I had a little incident just after I got here. I had to use my powers to help somebody. Things got a little complicated with rumors after that, but I think if I just stay in my human form for a while things will die down. I ran into some old friends from London while here, it really is a small world after all, it seems they knew about Xavier's Institute. I told them to say hi for me if they come there. _

_I hope everything's going okay, and I'll talk to you later._

_Your friend,  
_Christian Van Hart

Kitty read the email on her laptop sitting in her room with a slight smile on her face as she began to type a response. This was the first time she'd heard from Chris since he'd left, and she was glad that he was finally settled enough that he could write.

_Dear Chris, _

_Things are going fine here lately. No big fights or anything that I know of. Though the boys stayed out past curfew last night, so they might be in some trouble. I'm glad you're having a good time down there; I was starting to get worried when we hadn't heard from you. Things are going fine with Lance. I haven't talked to him in a while. He's been kind of distant since that fight with you. _

_I hope everything clears up for you down there and you can come back soon. The warriors really miss you. And I miss talking to you. How big is your Uncle's farm? Did he have any horses or cows on it? I heard there were a few tornadoes down that way on the weather channel (Ororo was watching it) I hope you're all okay down there. _

_Write back soon. _

_Love,  
_Kitty

She had barely finished typing her response before Rogue came almost rushing into the room. "Are you okay? You look like a ghost…" Kitty paused.

"Joe… Just asked me out." Rogue answered looking up.

**---------------------------------------------------------****  
The End  
Coming Soon... Chapter 22: The Gathering**


	22. Arrivals and Returns

1**Author's Note: **I apologize for this now. I wanted to get this out a lot sooner, but with moving to college and everything, some stuff got a little hectic. Here's the next chapter you've been waiting for, just after these responses to your reviews. Oh by the way, I want everyone to review, I want votes. What character of the original 13 would you like to see gotten rid off?

**JP3711NC: **I don't know what's going to happen with Rogue. I make this stuff up as I go along. (Not really, I just don't want to tell you.)

**Mark C:** My hand is better thanks. Chris was in Smallville, you can read part of the story in "Legend of the Dragon" another story of mine on this site. As for whether or not Rogue will say yes, well, just read and find out.

**Nettlez: **I know, a lot of people like the Rogue/Nathan pairing. But I mean... come on... they can't even touch each other. And if they accidently did, Rogue would die. Do you really want that to happen?

**Dante:** Not in this story he isn't. All the characters I bring in, other than the Brotherhood, Acolytes, X-Men, or Morlocks, are original.

**Milo:** Why not Joe? What's wrong with Joe? He's pretty cool.

**Timberfoxen:** Thank you very much! I hope you continue to read and review!

**Anticlown-outziders: **Your reviews always amuse me.

**Roadkill:** Thank you! I'm glad you like my story. I must say I worked hard on it. And am still actually. Sorry that it takes me so long to get these updates up.

**Zahrah:** Sorry if this wasn't soon enough.

**Chapter 22: Arrivals and Returns**

It was a Sunday night. A rather warm Sunday night for late February. "Is this it?" Two young men stood outside the gates to Xavier's Institute for Gifted Youngsters.

Well, one young man stood outside the gates, the other was already inside them. "Yes. This is." He said walking towards the house, the other young man followed him. Slowly they came up to the doors and the taller one took a deep breath before knocking rather loudly on the doors.

"Who could that be at this hour?" Mr. McCoy asked looking to Ororo as they were walking through the foyer. It was nearing eleven o'clock, PM, and they were not expecting anyone. Most of the Warrior's were in their rooms already due to James' grounding them.

Ororo opened up the door. "May I help you?"

"Maybe." The one man answered. "My name is Fenris. I'm looking for a young man by the name of Nathaniel Albarran."

Ororo paused. "May I ask why?"

"We're old friends, Seth, Nathan, and I." He motioned to the young man standing next to him when he said the name Seth.

"Come in." Ororo said moving aside so they could both enter.

They both did and smiled a bit. Hank was no longer there to be seen.

"Wait here, I'll go see if he's awake still." Ororo said with a slight smile before heading off down the hallway.

"Think he'll be surprised?" Seth asked with a slight smile.

"More like he'll be concerned, our mere presence indicates that something is wrong." Fenris said with a slight shrug.

**Somewhere above Bayville**

A news helicopter flew past several buildings, returning to the station from it's traffic report patrol. When quite suddenly a large down draft hit it, and something flew over it, the sudden wind knocking it around a bit. "What was that?" The co-pilot shouted.

A rather large demonic figure flew over them and now in front of them. You could barely see it, its skin was dark grey, its hair an odd sickly green, it had to be about seven feet tall, it had claws instead of hands or feet, and it had two huge bat-like wings that reached out about twenty feet tip to tip.

The other pilot remained silent and soon it was out of sight. Disappearing into the night air.

**Xavier's Institute for Gifted Youngsters**

James and Ares sat in the living room, both on opposite ends of the couch, with Rebecca sitting in the middle. They were watching a movie of some sort, James honestly wasn't paying that much attention to it.

Apparently neither was Ares. "Hey James, you still got that monster of yours?"

"Not with me." James responded. "Rebecca has her bike though."

"That's a shame, I was hoping for a race." Ares replied with a smirk.

"And you can't race me?" Rebecca asked raising a brow.

"Heck no, I'd loose." Ares responded with a smirk.

VVVVVVVVVV

Ororo approached Nathan's room, it was on the corner, but she could already hear the loud blasting music. She knocked rather hard, surprising for a woman of her sophistication. "Nathan?" She called out.

The door opened and there stood Nathan, black ripped up shirt, long-sleeve fishnet underneath it, black gloves, some rather baggy pants, and a pair of boots on his feet. With so much piercing going through his face he almost resembled a pin cushion. "Yeah?"

"There are two guests downstairs to see you. They said their names were Fenris and Seth?" Ororo asked carefully.

Nathan's eyes widened for an instant as she said their names, but he soon returned to normal. "Tell the professor to meet me in the library." He said as he came out of his room and closed the door behind him.

Ororo didn't respond as she didn't get the chance, Nathan was off down the hall towards the front doors in less than a second. It wasn't long until he made it there. He came down the steps silently, but both Fenris and Seth's eyes were on him.

"Long time no see." Fenris spoke first.

Nathan smirked. "It's good to see you."

"I wish I could say the same." Seth said with a slight laugh. "We're not here for pleasure."

"What's up?" Nathan asked.

Suddenly Rayne, Rogue, and Kitty came into the room, walking through on their way to the kitchen. "Hey, have you guys seen... Who are you?" Kitty asked looking towards Fenris and Seth.

"Old friends of mine." Nathan answered for them. "Fenris, and Seth, meet Rogue, Kitty, and Rayne. Rayne is a wolf-morph." He added that, which Rayne thought rather rude to single her out like that.

"You two are mutants?" Kitty asked curiously.

"No." Fenris answered. "We are something else entirely. Though we know about the existence of mutants."

"I... Don't get it..." Kitty said trying to understand just what it was he meant by 'something else'.

"If you'll excuse us." Nathan interrupted. "We have some things to discuss. Follow me, we can talk in the library." He said to Seth and Fenris before he began heading down the hall through which Rogue, Kitty, and Rayne had just come.

"It was nice to meet you all." Fenris said with a slight nod to each. "Have a good evening." He said before he and Seth followed Nathan out of sight.

"That was odd..." Rayne said watching them.

VVVVVVV

Nathan, Seth, and Fenris reached the library, which was empty and the lights were dimmed, with a fire going in the fire place. "So... what is happening that would bring you two here?"

"Activity of a most personal kind." Fenris answered.

"Leif is in the area." Seth said a little quickly. "And the Red Council has discovered several people in the area that should not be here. Regardless that we've also discovered this to be the most single populated mutant area in the world."

"What've you got against mutants?" Nathan asked.

"Nothing at all." Fenris answered. "But you know full well that not all those who have power use it responsibly."

Nathan paused. "So Leif is in the area? What do you plan to do?"

"We plan to wait for him. He is gathering quite a few allies to him, we think he's going to plan a massive attack of some kind." Seth responded.

"Do you think you can defeat him?" Nathan asked as he sat back in his chair.

"Maybe." Fenris answered shaking his head. "We'll have to try."

"What allies has he gathered to him?" Nathan asked curiously.

"That's the one thing we haven't been able to discover, but we do know that whoever they are, they are powerful." Seth said with a nod as he stood up and went over to the fire place. "We want to wait here until he makes his move."

"Do you think we could?" Fenris asked looking to Nathan.

"I've already asked the Professor to meet us here, he should be here any moment." Nathan said with a nod.

"Good, that just leaves one problem." Fenris said looking up to Nathan. "Three nights until the new moon." He said glancing to Seth.

"Don't worry, the professor would understand, there's a room downstairs Seth can use." Nathan said with a nod.

"The professor would understand vhat?" Nightcrawler asked as he and Spike came into the room. His holo-watch was on.

"Nothing." Nathan answered. "Kurt, and Evan, meet Fenris, and Seth." He said gesturing to each one.

"You are German?" Fenris asked looking to Kurt.

"Ja." Kurt answered with a slight nod.

"_Then good evening to you." _Fenris said in German. _"I spent the last three years in Germany with my brother there." _He motioned to the fireplace. _"We both speak German, Norwegian, French, as well as English." _

"_That's amazing. What part of Germany were you in?" _Kurt asked responding in German.

Nathan and Spike looked at each other as Fenris and Kurt seemed to get into deep conversation. "This will be an interesting night." Nathan said with a smirk.

"Why do you say that?" Professor Xavier's voice rang as he entered the room in his wheelchair with a blanket over his legs and in his pajamas.

"Sorry if we woke you." Nathan said standing up. "But I want you to meet Fenris and Seth Erickson, two brothers from Norway and old friends of mine."

"Nice to meet you both." The professor said with a nod.

"The reason I wanted you to meet them," Nathan paused. "Was because I was wondering if you would be willing to allow them to stay here for a few days, just until they move on again."

"Move on again to where, might I ask?" The professor asked curiously.

"To wherever. It's our way, we never stay in one spot." Seth explained.

"I see." The Professor paused. **"Are they mutants?" **He asked Nathan telepathically.

"No, but they know about mutants, and they have powers of their own." Nathan responded out loud.

Kurt and Spike glanced to each other.

"What kind of abilities do you have?" The Professor asked raising a brow ever so slightly.

Seth and Fenris looked at each other and then to Spike and Kurt, and then back to the professor. "We'd prefer if that be kept between us and you." Seth said after a brief pause.

"I see..." The professor looked to Kurt.

"Ja, ve get z'he hint. Later." He said waving a brief goodbye and then teleporting out of the room.

Spike just shrugged. "See you around." He said before leaving the library.

"Now." The Professor said after everyone else had left. "What abilities do you two have exactly?"

"Seth?" Fenris asked looking towards his brother.

Seth smirked and fell forward, as he did so his body seemed to change, his hands became paws, his nose a snout, his ears were on top of his head, and white fur covered his body. He was a wolf. A large, white timberwolf actually. He stood there and then morphed back into the man he was.

"We have a girl here with similar abilities." The Professor said with a slight nod.

"I don't think you understand..." Fenris said looking to Seth. "We're not mutants, we're not human, we're werewolves. Pure full blood werewolves."

The Professor raised a brow and looked to Nathan. "Do such things really exist?"

"Says the man sitting in the wheelchair that can read my mind." Said Nathan. "They are what they say they are. I've seen it."

"Very well. You may stay, but please, do nothing to upset the students here." The Professor said with a rather commanding tone. "Otherwise I will have no choice but to ask you to leave."

"Thank you." Seth said with a slight nod.

"Nathan will show you to your room, you'll be staying in the room across from his." The Professor said with a nod. "And Nathan, I'll be holding you responsible as well."

Nathan nodded as he stood up, Seth and Fenris following him. "Come on." He said as they left the library. "I"ll show you the way."

It only took a few seconds, but suddenly they ran into Logan. Who took a sniff at the air and suddenly got a very stern look on his face. "Who the heck are they?" He asked looking to Nathan.

"Some old friends of mine." Nathan answered. "They're going to be staying here a little while."

Logan sniffed again and made a low growl noise. "I don't think I like it."

Fenris returned the growl. "You don't have to."

"Careful Bub." Logan said as his claws came out of his right hand.

Fenris took a step forward but Seth but his arm out to stop him. "That's enough. Stop acting on instinct the both of you. We're people, not animals."

Logan retracted his claws, but didn't say anything, just walked past them, bumping shoulders with Fenris as he did so.

"I don't like that guy." Fenris said after he had left. "He smells like..."

"It doesn't matter, we just got here, the last thing we need is you getting into a fight." Seth said keeping a cool head about the matter. "Besides, we're only going to be here a few more days."

"What do you plan to do then?" Nathan asked.

"We don't have any plans." Seth answered. "We're taking it moment by moment."

**Monday Morning**

"Come on! We're gonna be late for class!" Mike yelled as he banged on Nathan's door. He and Nathan had always walked to school together, it was almost like a tradition now.

Finally Nathan stepped out his door, fully dressed and ready for School. "Keep your shirt on." He said with a smirk as he headed down the stairs with Mike.

"Stay up late last night?" Mike asked with a slight smirk.

"A little. We had some guests." Nathan said with a nod.

"We did?" Mike asked curiously.

"Some old friends of mine came, they're spending a few days." Nathan said with a nod.

They both suddenly stopped talking as they reached the bottom of the steps and Rogue was there seemingly waiting for them. They were silent, and she just sort of stared at them for a second or two.

"Would ya'll mind if Ah just walked to school with you today?" She asked after a brief pause.

"Don't you normally walk to school with Joe?" Nathan asked with a pierced brow slightly raised.

"Yeah, but I..." Rogue paused, then seemed to not be able to think of what to say next.

Mike cut in. "Sure." He said with a nod. "In fact, you two just walk to school today, I'm supposed to see the professor anyway."

"What?" Nathan asked looking to Mike.

"I've been having a lot of headaches lately." Mike said with a nod. "He's afraid it might have something to do with my powers."

"Okay..." Nathan shrugged. "Come on." He said walking past Rogue and through the doors.

She followed, walking next to him, both were silent for a long while. "Ah was wondering..." She paused. "Would you maybe like to go to a movie sometime?"

"No." Nathan's strong answer was a little more blunt than she had expected.

She nodded. "Can Ah know why?"

"I've only ever loved one person. And I killed her." Nathan said as though it were the most normal thing in the world. "I don't want to date anyone, I don't want to be in love with anyone, I just want to kill my father, and then end my life."

Rogue stared at him for a second as they walked. "Are you serious?" She asked her voice a little strong.

"Have I ever made a joke in all the time you've known me?" Nathan asked.

She paused... She hadn't been expecting all of that, not at all. "Ah just thought..."

"Don't. It's not an option. I would sooner dance in a ballet than go on a date with you." Nathan said rather hurtfully. "And if I did care about you, it would be all the more reason for me to stay away from you."

Rogue was quiet the rest of the way to school, and Nathan didn't speak a word either. After getting inside Nathan went off to his first class, and Rogue went to hers. Hurt but no longer confused.

VVVVVV

Back at the Institute the inhabitants were eating their breakfast while the kids were at school. The school day people seemed to be getting more and more numerous. Hank, Ororo, Logan, James, Rebecca, Ares, Professor X, Fenris, and Seth were all there now. Most of them were in the kitchen, some where in the living room. Fenris and Seth were in their room still, they slept during the day most of the time, and James was getting ready to go out.

James was just about to open the door when there was a nock at it. "Who could that be?" He asked coming up to the door. Slowly he opened it and there before him stood a young man drenched, and in ripped up clothes, without shoes, a gold necklace hanging around his neck.

"Chris?" James shouted in surprise.

"Surprise." Chris said with a smile. "Can I come in? And maybe... Get some coffee? And perhaps a couch?"

"Sure!" James said with a laugh as he moved aside to let him through.

Chris came in but slowly, he could barely walk, or stand for that matter.

"You been flying?" James asked concerned.

"Last two days and nights, straight." He said with a nod. "I had to do it in full form." He said with a nod. "I got in town last night, then slept under a bridge when I changed back, woke up, came here." Chris said tiredly. "Come on. I'll tell you what's going on... Everything..." He said with a nod.

"So what's up Chris? Why did you come back so suddenly?" James asked curiously. As the two sat in the living room, both with a cup full of something to drink.

"I'm here to explain more like why I left..." Chris said with a brief pause.

"I thought your Uncle died." James said slightly confused.

"Somebody died, but it wasn't my Uncle." Chris said shaking his head. "James, how old do you think I am?"

James paused for a moment. "I don't know... seventeen? Eighteen? Your birthday's in November right?"

Chris laughed. "As near as I can figure it is." Chris responded. "But James, I'm nowhere near eighteen. I'm eight hundred and forty three."

James laughed.

"Seriously. I was born November 7th, the year 1162 A.D." Chris said with a nod. "And I was cursed in the year 1181."

James paused for a moment. "You're serious...?"

"More than I have ever been." Chris said with a nod. "The man who died wasn't my Uncle, but my last living descendant."

"Wow..." James thought for a moment as he sat back.

"And all this time you've been posing as a teenager... why?" James asked curiously.

"Amanda knew, back in New York, and so did Thomas, in fact it was Amanda that had brought me into the Warriors, we knew each other from working together previously, just after World War II."

James paused. "Wow..." He thought for a second. "So... Why just come back here and tell me that all of a sudden like as soon as you get into the door?"

"Because something big is about to happen." Chris responded. "Almost everyone is gathering."

"What do you mean?" James asked curiously.

"Gabriel is in town, as well as Jude, Fenris and Seth arrived last night, I'm back, the Warriors leave New York and come here, and the Immortals are on their way. Do you really think that all of this is coincidence?" Chris asked.

"Whoa, back up, who's Gabriel, who's Jude, and who are the Immortals? And how do you know all of this anyway?" James asked slightly concerned and slightly interested.

"I received a message from two of my previous affiliations, neither of which I can discuss with you." Chris said after a brief pause. "They were both rather secretive societies. But let me explain that several entities have gathered here, and are planning something malicious, something big is going to happen, and they want us all to be here when it does."

"Who are they?" James asked raising a brow.

"The Red Council has classified them as 'the league' but not much is known about them either way." Chris answered.

"Who's the Red Council?" James asked now even more confused.

"I'm not allowed to reveal the specifics, sufficed to say they are an ally, and some of them are here already to help us in our time of need." Chris answered.

"So something big is going to happen." James said for clarification.

Chris nodded.

"I'll go tell the professor." James said with a slight sigh.

**Professor Xavier's Office**

"Why haven't you told us that the psychic shields weren't working?" Professor X asked from behind his desk.

Mike sat in front of the desk with his hands folded on his lap. "I didn't want to disappoint anyone." He said. "They worked in the beginning, but now..." He paused.

"I see." The Professor said as he took a moment in silent thought. "Jean says you've made progress in her sessions."

"I have... I think... I just still can't block anyone out..." Mike said with a shake of his head.

"Perhaps we'll have to try something a little bit different." Professor X said with a slight sigh. "For now though I want you to stay here, you are excused from school today."

"Thanks." Mike said with a slight smile. He turned around as there was a sudden knock on the door.

"Come in." Professor Xavier said as he wheeled out to in front of his desk.

"Professor?" James asked as he came in, Chris following behind him.

"Chris!" Mike yelled.

Chris put a hand up as if to silence Mike. "We've got trouble." He said looking to the Professor.

VVVVVVV

Joe, Will, and John sat in the back of class listening, or at least half listening, to their teacher. This guywas always so boring, but what could you do?

"Did she answer you yet?" Will asked leaning over to Joe.

"Not yet." Joe whispered.

"Do you think she'll say yes?" Will asked in a whisper.

"Maybe..." Joe paused. "I hope so anyway." Joe said in a whisper.

"What if she says no?" Will asked.

"Then that's fine, we keep on being friends." Joe said with a shrug.

"What if she says yes?" Will asked.

"Then I take her out and we see what happens, it's not like I'm going to ask her to marry me." Joe said in a whisper.

"Speaking of which I wonder when James and Rebecca's wedding will be." Will said sitting back in his chair. "Has he picked a best man yet?"

"Not that I-." He was cut off by the teacher yelling.

"Mr. McKinley!" The teacher yelled. "If you have something to say I think I would prefer you to say it to the whole class."

"Sorry." Joe said staying in his seat.

VVVVVVVVV

"Hey Rogue!" Grace yelled as she came running up to her in the hall after the first period of classes. "What's up?"

"Nothing." Rogue said with a shrug. She had talked to Grace a few times, but not that many, they weren't terribly close.

"I hear Joe finally worked up the nerve and asked you out... You gonna go?" Grace asked with a smirk.

"Ah..." Rogue paused. "Don't know..."

END

**Author's Note: Sorry about the length I wasn't sure about it since I'm using a new word processor on a new computer and it's a little bit different. If it was too short I apologize. Oh, and please Review, I want to know what character of the original thirteen would you like to see gotten rid of? **


	23. Explanations

**Quillian:** Yeah, sorry that the last chapter took so long to get up. Hopefully I won't keep you waiting that long again.

**jp3711nc:** Nathan huh? But I kinda like him. Besides, you haven't even found out who his father is yet. And Mike will have a big enough role in up coming plots, but for now he's kind of on the back burner while I have this huge development happen and stuff.

**Mark C: **The Immortals is just a group calling themselves that unfortunately, sorry if I got your hopes up. We'll see who goes and who stays, but probably not in this chapter.

**Liquid-godess-reformation:** Elise or Chris huh? Interesting. I think I'll keep Elise around for a while longer, I mean after all, you haven't even gotten to know her yet. As for Chris... well who knows.

**Anticlown-outsiders: **You have no idea how relevant the advice of 'look out for zombies' actually is to the upcoming chapters of this story.

**O-dragon: **Joe huh? Now that'd be interesting. Personally I like Joseph McKinley, I mean without that character, I wouldn't have a pen-name.

**Author's Note**: This is where things get interesting.

**Chapter 23: Explanations **

"What kind of trouble are you talking about Chris?" Xavier asked as he was sitting behind his desk. Chris took a seat, and Mike came into the room but stayed standing near the door.

"I want you to think about something for a second." Chris said with a slight pause. "The warriors, the X-Men, the brotherhood, Magneto and his Acolytes, the most powerful and most numerous groups on this planet are all at what location?"

"What are you getting at?" Xavier asked raising a slight brow.

"They're being lured here." Chris answered. "Don't ask me to explain how, I don't know all the answers, but I think that some one is planning something."

"Who?" Xavier asked.

"A very powerful man, but the name of Leif Erickson." Chris answered.

Xavier's eyes widened when he heard the name, as if he recognized part or all of it.

"Have you heard of him?" Chris asked.

"No, but the last name is familiar to me." Xavier said with a solemn nod. "James." He said looking up to the giant who was standing in the doorway. "Go to the school and pull Nathan out of classes, I need him here now."

James paused for a second... "Okay..." He said with a shrug before leaving to do what he was told.

"Mike." Xavier continued. "I want you to go round up Logan, Ororo, and Hank."

"Okay." Mike said with a slight nod before leaving as well.

"What exactly do you know?" Xavier asked seriously. "Give me every detail you have."

"I'm afraid I don't have many. Leif Erickson is a human, not a mutant, but he possess powers far beyond this realm. He seeks immortality, I don't know what he's up to, except in addition to luring all of these people here he's hoping to lure the immortals." Chris was cut off by Xavier's hand.

"Who are the immortals?" Xavier asked.

"There are a few of us on this earth, that have been cursed." Chris began to explain. "Cursed to never age, and never die."

"Most people would call that a gift." Xavier argued.

"Indeed. Most people would kill numerous lives for it. I would gladly give my own to only be rid of it." Chris said in a rather depressing tone for him.

"What are you saying?" Xavier asked.

"I have lived over eight hundred years, un-aging, unable to rest, unable to die. The soul is immortal, the flesh is temporary. My flesh however, has been given the permanent immortality of the soul." Chris explained. "There are some who would call me a demon, and I would not disagree, but if you believe me or Kurt, to be demons, than you have not even begun to imagine the horror possible by the real creatures."

"You are immortal?" Xavier asked. "Who else is in the Immortals?"

"Several others." Chris started. "The society of immortals was started by a mutant who's mutated pineal gland generated a hormone much like melatonin that froze his metabolism. He is the oldest of us, from 700 or so BC."

"I would very much like to meet this man." Xavier said now completely interested.

"You might, but I'm hoping it won't come to that." Chris said with a nod. "If all the immortals gather here they will only be playing into Leif's hands."

"Go on then, who else is in this society?" Xavier asked.

"Amanda, from New York, is in it as well. We first met just after WWII. Logan might not remember, but I met first met him in 1894." Chris glanced behind him. "I did not know that he too was an immortal at the time." He paused. "But as for who else is in the society there are several others. Paddy McCollough, Gabriel, Warren, Avarik, Sparrow, Nameless, and Kronos. As well as myself, and one who was expelled."

"Those are some interesting names." Xavier said raising a brow.

"Not all are their real names." Chris said.

"I understand." Xavier nodded. "But why would this Leif want to lure the immortals here, if he cannot defeat them due to their immortality why should he want to fight them?"

Chris smirked. "Leif's powers are not of this world, he knows what awaits him after his death, and he wishes more than anything to avoid his fate while retaining his powers. Thus he does not want to defeat the immortals, he wants to be one himself."

"How would he accomplish that by luring all of us here?" Xavier asked curiously.

"That I don't know." Chris said shaking his head. "But more will be revealed once the testing begins."

"What do you mean?" Xavier asked.

"Leif always makes sure that his opponents are worth his fight, he likes to torture those he can, he will test all of us before too long. And once the final test is complete he will strike." Chris said rather solemnly.

"What powers does he have exactly?" Xavier asked.

"All." Chris answered. "He is not to be taken lightly, nor are any of his servants. They are powerful enough in and of themselves."

"Who are his servants?" Xavier asked slightly confused.

"I don't know. But I, along with several others, have fought him before. His servants are never to be taken lightly." Chris said. "Hopefully the red council will arrive soon."

"Now you're making even less sense." Xavier said. "Who are all these people?"

"The Red Council was something that I started on my own. Specifically to deal with a creature of a remote nether-realm that Leif had released upon Northern Germany in 1996. I have since left it's leadership to another, but there are several warriors on that team, including Leif's sons." Chris explained. "If anyone can defeat Leif, it's one of them."

"So his sons are against him?" Xavier asked as if for clarification.

"More than anyone." Chris said with a nod.

"Good. You'll find Fenris and Seth Erickson up stairs." Xavier said with a slight nod. "They arrived some time last night, claiming to be old friends of Nathan's."

"And he knew them?" Chris asked.

Xavier nodded.

"Now that's interesting..." Chris began to think.

"Excuse me professor?" Mike said opening up the door. "I got everybody together like you asked me to."

"Everybody come in." Xavier said loudly as Mike stepped aside to make way for the rest of them. Their eyes got wide as they saw Chris.

**VVVV**

Lunch period, everyone's favorite. Scott, Jean, Kurt, Spike, Kitty, and Rogue were all sitting at one lunch table together. This was the first time they'd done this in a while. Jean usually sat with Duncan, and the rest usually sat with different new students or warriors. Conversation seemed slack a bit, but it started picking up gradually despite the noisy lunch room.

"So Rogue, you gonna say yes to Joe?" Jean asked looking over to her.

"How did you hear about that?" Rogue asked looking to Kitty.

"Say yes about what?" Kurt asked looking over.

"Joe asked her out." Kitty said with a smirk. "And she's being all sad and shy about it."

Scott's eyes widened a bit beneath his shades. Joe was cool, but something didn't strike him right about it. He was protective like that.

"Why not just go and have fun?" Spike asked with a shrug. "It's not like it's a big deal."

"Cause, Ah can't touch anybody you know that." Rogue said with a nod. "And 'sides, if things went badly we'd still have to live in the same mansion and have to do the same things with the same people, we'd be miserable."

"Don't give him the 'I don't want to ruin the friendship' line." Jean said shaking her head.

"Ah didn't say I was going to." Rogue defended.

"I don't think you should go." Scott said looking down to his food.

The rest just turned and looked at him; including Rogue.

"Well she's right." Scott defended. "If things went badly it would tear the mansion apart."

Kurt was about to say something but never got the chance. A familiar and annoying voice broke in, but surprisingly it wasn't to annoy them.

"Any of you X-Geeks seen Lance?" Fred's bullying voice asked in a rather loud tone.

Kurt looked up at him as if he was nuts. "Nein." Kurt answered.

Fred just raised a brow at him.

"He means no." Spike said shaking his head. "Why, what's wrong? Can't find your circus' ring leader?"

Fred grimaced. "Shut up. Nobody's seen him since the day before yesterday."

"Are you serious?" Kitty asked almost concerned.

"We got back from fighting the Warrior's, and everybody went to bed." Fred started.

"Yeah, I heard about that, you guys got your butts kicked." Spike smirked.

"They didn't fight fair!" Fred yelled.

"Calm down, continue." Kitty said looking up at him.

"Well anyway, next morning he was gone, no where to be seen, but he's jeep is still there." Fred said with a shrug. "Pietro's going nuts."

"He hasn't called or anything?" Scott asked, taking interest for some strange reason.

"Nope." Fred said shaking his head.

**VVVV**

Tabitha and Toad stood outside in the school courtyard, waiting for Fred to come back, and kind of looking for Lance. They'd scan the faces there at the school. They wouldn't be surprised if he'd gone to Kitty or something for a while, but they were starting to get worried about him, even if they wouldn't admit it.

"Good morning." A man dressed in a completely white outfit stood before them, rather suddenly as well. He wore white boots, white pants, and a white shirt, beneath a long and flowing and white trench coat. His hair was golden blonde and his eyes were the deepest baby blue Tabitha had ever seen. On his forehead was written something that neither of them recognized, it looked odd.

"Can I help you?" Toad asked rather rudely.

"This is a highschool correct?" The young-man asked for clarification.

"Yeah..." Toad answered, Tabitha seemed in a daze.

"Good." The young-man said with a nod. He definitely looked older than Toad and Tabitha, but not by much. "I was wondering if you could point me in the direction of the nearest graveyard."

"What?" Toad asked looking at this guy like he was out of his mind. "Who the heck are you?"

"Forgive me. My name is Jude." He said offering his right hand as if for a shake. One would notice that a rather intricate cross design was carved, literally scarred, into the top of his right hand. And the star of David was on his the top of his left. Both were actual scars, not tattoos.

"Nice to meet you." Tabitha spoke for the first time as she glanced away from his eyes and offered him her hand for the shake instead of Toad.

"Why do you need to go to a graveyard?" Tabby asked curiously.

"If you could just be so kind as to point me in the direction." Jude said with a slight nodding bow.

"Sure, it's right down this street, make a left three streets down, and then go four blocks and it's right there." Tabby answered.

"My deepest thanks." Jude said as he kissed her hand and let it go. "Neither of you will remember this meeting." He said before turning and leaving in the direction which Tabitha had pointed him.

Neither of them watched him go, but instead Tabby looked to Toad. "Man, how long has Fred been in there?"

"I don't know." Toad said with a shrug. "He's slow, give him some time."

"If you'd lost the coin toss we'd be gone by now." Tabby said annoyed.

**VVVV**

James and Nathan were back at the Mansion finally, James had to explain to the teacher why he needed to pull Nathan out of the class. And for the life of him he couldn't think of a decent enough reason. Finally they got out of there.

Logan, Xavier, Ororo, Hank, Mike, Rebecca, Ares, and Chris were there to greet them in the lower levels of the building, near the Blackbird's hangar.

"Chris?" Nathan asked as he came into the room and saw him.

Chris nodded. "Hey Nathan. I hear Fenris and Seth are here."

"You know them?" Nathan asked.

Chris nodded. "Very well." He said with a smile.

"What's this all about?" Nathan asked curiously.

"Well I think you should know what's going on." The Professor said with a slight nod. "I don't want the rest of the students knowing about this. It's a need to know basis. You, Mike, Chris, and Scott will know, but other than that this information will not leave this room. Understood?" Xavier asked with a brow slightly raised.

"Yeah..." Nathan paused.

**VVVV**

"That was odd." Jean said after Fred had left.

"I wonder why Lance left like that." Kitty said starting to think.

"Did you and him have a fight or something?" Kurt asked looking over to Kitty.

"He was a little upset over the Chris thing, but he got over that. Other than that I don't think so..." Kitty said thinking.

"I'm more concerned with where he is now. He's been gone since yesterday. How far did he go without his jeep?" Scott asked rhetorically.

"Maybe he didn't go anywhere, maybe he was kidnaped or something." Spike said with a shrug.

"By who? Magneto?" Rogue asked.

"Maybe." Spike said with a shrug.

"But why would magneto kidnap Lance and nobody else? Not leave a note, or anything?" Scott asked.

Spike shrugged. "I don't know, I was just saying it's a possibility."

"I wonder if any of the warriors have seen him." Jean said with a shrug.

"I doubt it. Most of them have been grounded." Spike said with a smirk.

"What do you think of them anyway? Are they fitting in okay?" Jean asked.

"I think they're cool. At least Will is pretty cool, he skates." Spike said with a shrug.

"They're all pretty cool, but I haven't gotten to know any of the girls really, it seems like every time I see them they stick to themselves." Kurt said with a shrug.

"Maybe you smell so bad you scare them away." Spike joked with a laugh.

"At least Elise separates herself from the girls a little bit, but usually only so she can hang on Will's arm." Scott commented.

"And Megan seems to have completely dropped away from you." Kitty said looking to Scott. Jean looked to him to.

"I hadn't noticed." Scott said with a shrug.

"Liar." Kitty caught him. "What happened?"

"Nothing happened." Scott said with a shrug.

"Oh come on!" Kitty almost whined. "What happened?"

"Nothing happened!" Scott defended.

"Maybe that's what the problem vas." Kurt joked, Spike laughed and gave him a high-five. Both Scott and Jean gave them a glare.

"Ah don't know, that kiss you two shared seemed pretty special." Rogue said with a smirk.

"What kiss?" Jean asked looking to Scott.

"It was at the Christmas party up in New York, one of their traditions is to play a game called the Mistletoe toss. I had to play it, but Rogue and Joe got to sit out." Scott said glancing down. "Nothing happened." He defended again.

Kurt laughed as did Kitty and Spike.

Jean seemed to get a look on her face, but Spike broke that into a different kind of look. "What about you and Mike?" He asked looking to Jean.

"What?" Jean's eyes widened as she looked over to him.

"Nothing." Spike said raising his hands as if in surrender.

"What about you and Grace?" Kitty asked looking to Spike. "I saw you giving her skateboarding lessons."

"She asked me to show her how to skate." Spike defended.

"The girl's power is a supernatural sense of balance, you honestly think she needs you to teach her how to stay on a skateboard?" Kitty asked raising a brow.

"I forgot about that..." Spike paused.

"What about you and Chris?" Kurt asked looking over to Kitty.

"Not funny." Kitty said glaring at Kurt.

"Oh come on, I've seen the way you carry around those letters he writes you." Kurt argued.

"Hey!" Kitty was getting offended. "He's a friend, that's it."

"Yeah sure, I believe that." Spike said with a laugh before getting smacked on the arm by Kitty.

**VVVV**

A man in a ragged coat with battered fingerless gloves stood next to a rather large Russian outside of the mall there in Bayville. "You sure he'll be here?" The Russian asked looking down to the man in the trench-coat.

"Yeah. He'll be comin'." The smaller man spoke. "Just let ol' Remy do the talkin' when he gets here, no?"

"But Eric said-." The Russian was cut off as a young man with white hair came up to them, and the smaller man tapped him to shut him up.

"Ready to go?" Remy asked with a slight smirk.

Pietro nodded silently.

**Elsewhere**

"What have you to report now? I sent you a long time ago to spy on the new students at Xavier's, and you did it, without making yourself known as I asked, you made your report I sent you on your way, what do you want of me now?" Magneto stood in front of a large metallic chair, in a hall shaped like a dome, in his dark and royal uniform, helmet left on a small stand next to his chair.

A small man in comparison was knelt before him, on one knee, his raven black hair reaching his shoulders. He was young, late twenties at the most, and was dressed in normal clothes, abandoning the trend of uniforms or trench coats within his current audience. He did not answer at first.

"Well? Why have you come here?" Magneto asked loudly, his patience growing thinner.

"I was paid for the services I rendered to you, though they did you little good, and I was not allowed to harm anyone, which did me little good, but now, I work for someone else now, my employer wants to meet you." The man said without glancing up or standing from his kneeling position.

"Who do you work for now, and why would they want to meet me?" Magneto asked raising a cautious brow.

"A man wishes to be known to you by the name of Necros." The man answered.

"You speak in riddles Lucas, as if you wished to deceive me." Magneto replied. "Who is your employer, where is he, and what does he want of me?"

"A man who wishes for your enemies to be defeated, is in Bayville, and he wishes to speak with you, to see if you are really worth your reputation." Lucas said with a smirk.

"And what consequence is my worth to him?" Magneto asked rather sharply, he was thinking something.

"He can give you what you've always wanted." Lucas said with a smirk.

"And what makes you think I can't take it for myself?" Magneto asked.

"I know it." Lucas smirked, and then sank into the floor, disappearing into the shadows of the floor.

Magneto's eyes widened; that man hadn't been able to do that before. "Pyro, prepare, we're going to Bayville."

**That afternoon: Xavier Institute**

Kitty and Jean were the first through the doors, with the rest following behind as they got out of Scott's car. There was only one person in the foyer to greet them; Chris.

"Chris!" Kitty shouted.

"Hi." Chris smiled as he came over to them, and gave Kitty a brief hug.

"Are you back?" Jean asked with a hint of surprise in her voice.

"For now." Chris answered with a slight smile.

"For now?" Kitty asked with a slight hint of disappointment in her voice.

"We will see what the future brings when it comes." Chris said rather whimsically.

The others came in afterwards, Kurt, Spike, and Scott. Rogue, Grace, Rayne, and Elise, followed them as well, and then the rest came. All of which greeted Chris with enthusiasm, and eventually they were joined by Mike. All of the kids were gathered there in the foyer talking to him.

"Everyone." Professor Xavier said coming into the room once everyone was there. And all of them were gathered there. New students, X-men, and Warriors; save Nathan. "I would like you all to meet two new guests here at the Mansion. Fenris, and Leif Erickson, they are from Norway, and will be staying with us until further notice."

The two were standing behind the professor as he came in, both looked remarkably similar to the other, but they were not twins. Their faces were different and the one with black hair was slightly taller. The other had white hair, and was leaner than Fenris.

"Nice to meet you all." Fenris spoke for both of them with a nod.

"I want you all to make them feel at home here during their stay." Professor Xavier said with a slight nod. "Scott, please see me in my office for a moment." He said before leaving the hall area.

Scott looked to Jean, and then looked back to the professor as he was leaving, and followed. Fenris and Seth stayed behind.

**A Few Minutes Later**

"What?" Scott asked in a surprised, more than raised voice.

Professor Xavier was silent, and his face was still.

"You're telling me that some nut-job is out there and going to start a huge battle, and there's nothing we can do to stop or defeat him." Scott asked for reaffirmation.

"Yes." Professor Xavier sighed. "Seth and Fenris might now how to defeat this man, but from what I hear from Chris this man is not going to be an easy task to defeat, nor are his helpers."

"And he could attack at any moment?" Scott asked. "Is he in league with Magneto?"

"Magneto faces the same peril we do. This man is far beyond any mutant powers. At least that is what I am told. I cannot say that I have seen it for myself." Professor Xavier said. "Though I think you should be ready to lead the X-men incase anything happens."

"What do you mean?" Scott asked.

"If there is a battle, we need to be ready to fight in it. And if anything were to happen to me, or the other teachers, you'd be the one to take charge." The professor said looking towards Scott. "And you need to be ready to take control if you need to."

**VVVV**

A young man in a familiar leather vest, white undershirt, and ripped up jeans and boots stood at the gates of Xavier's Institute. But something was wrong with Lance, this wasn't Lance. His pupils weren't there; his eyes were pure white. He slowly bent and placed his hands on the ground, the tremors began to rumble beneath the earth and a mole tunnel started from his hands and going to the Xavier's institute. He would draw them out.

**VVVV**

Those gathered in the foyer area were dwindling in numbers, a few were leaving here and there, but when the tremors began Fenris and Seth reacted before the others even felt it. Seth suddenly abandoned his conversation with Jean and Spike and suddenly ran, bending low and running for a pace on all fours, before leaping up just as the tremors began.

Fenris looked over and avoided the mole tunnel just as it struck through the doors, jumping back. The rest of the X-Men and new students and Warriors suddenly returned to the area.

Lance's voice boomed a thousand times over, and sounded as though it was really two people speaking, the one that wasn't Lance's was much deeper and much louder, and seemed to strike fear into you just from hearing it. "X-Men! Warriors! Come and see if you have what it takes!"

**VVVV**

The voice rumbled in even into Professor Xavier's office where the professor sat talking with Scott. The professor closed his eyes, and put his fingers to his temple. "We're going to have a problem." He said quietly.

"What's wrong?" Scott asked with a hint of concern in his voice.

"I can't reach his mind." The professor said in almost a whisper.

**VVVV**

"Okay everybody." Chris said as he started making his way outside via the broken front door. "Let's go."

"Go where?" Kitty asked with a hint of fear in her voice. She seemed to be affected the most by the voice that was being combined with Lance's.

"To kill this thing." Chris answered bluntly.

"Kill?" She asked as her eyes widened.

"If you can't bring yourself to stop it, then stay behind. Myself? I'm going to protect thousands of innocent people." Chris replied as he got through the door.

The warriors followed him with Seth and Fenris following as well. The X-Men seemed to hesitate, and just look at each other as if trying to decide what to do. Could they bring themselves to kill a boy that they've known for so long, even if they didn't like him all that much? Could they bring themselves to kill anyone at all? What would the professor say? Where was the professor?


	24. Test of Strength

1**O-Dragon: **Thanks for pointing out that mistake I'll be more careful with all of it from now on. And I'll be sure not to mix up anymore names if I can help it. I guess when you have so many characters it's hard not to mix one up with another every once in a while.

**Mark C: **Yeah, every single mutant group that is going to be in this battle is going to be tested. The X-Men and the Warriors, the Brotherhood and the Acolytes.

**Bmarie: **I hope you make it to this chapter if you're just stopping, and I hope you like the story.

**Anti-clown outsiderz:** Oo, a magic ring, so long as no middle earth people come knocking on my door I think I'll keep it.

**Chapter 24: Test of Strength**

"Lance?" Kitty asked as she gently made her way outside, standing just behind where some of the Warriors were standing, facing Lance.

James, John, William, Chris, Rebecca, Fenris, and Seth, stood there, as if ready to fight.

Scott came running up after Kitty, as did Logan, Ororo, Hank, Jean, Kurt, and Spike.

"Kurt!" James yelled looking over his shoulder. "Get everyone else who isn't out here right now, the new students, and the professor, down into the lower levels!"

Kurt looked to Scott, who nodded, and then he bamfed off, back inside the building.

"Lance don't do this!" Kitty yelled running towards him.

"Kitty!" Seth's voice rang so sharp that they halted Kitty in her tracks. "That's not your friend!"

"That's our father." Fenris finished the sentence.

Lance smirked as he took a step or two forward calmly. "So you've made it here? Good, I was hoping to see you two again."

"Shut it." Fenris said sharply. "You cursed us, so we could become your servants you twisted son of a bch"

"That's funny." Lance said calmly, still speaking in that creepy double voice, but not so loudly now. "A dog calling me the son of a dog."

Fenris' eyes literally flashed and he growled like an angry beast.

Kitty paused. "Lance I know you're in there!"

Chris was now in his full dragon form, his skin was grey scales, two large leathery bat-like wings, twenty foot wingspan total, stuck out of his back, his hands and feet were now claws, his hair was a sickly green instead of blonde, his fangs protruded from his mouth, and his thick tail swished from side to side. "Kitty. Lance's soul is no longer in that body."

She looked to him shocked and confused, a bit of tears in her eyes. "What does that mean?"

"Look." He pointed a claw to the necklace hanging around Lance's neck, it was a blue crystal, with a rather unique design.

It flashed when she laid her eyes on it and in that instant she heard her name as if it was whispered in her ear... that was Lance's voice.

"We can't kill him!" Scott broke in for the first time.

"Unless one of you is capable of excommunication, I don't see much other choice." James said looking back towards them.

"Enough talk!" Lance's double-voice boomed. His hands were pointed to the ground and suddenly the earth began to shift beneath them. A wall of dirt and rocks came up beneath Lance, and he started to ride it as it formed into a large wave.

Chris flew upwards, taking Will with him. John leapt up and back, over the heads of the X-Men. James ran forward and punched through the wall of dirt as Scott blasted it. Kitty phased through it, and Logan put in his claws as he made a jump for Lance. Jean flew up, and Spike sent several large spikes at Lance.

Lance caught one of the spikes that flew at him, the one that would've hit his leg, and stuck it deep into the stomach as he leaped up towards him. The wave faltered a bit as James and Lance hit it, and he jumped off it.

Ororo's eyes clouded over as storm clouds began to gather, and Hank leaped forward with a shout aiming a punch at Lance.

Lance caught the punch and flipped Hank over his head, slamming him into the ground. Ororo sent a lightning bolt from the sky, but that seemed to be her mistake, the earth shifted at just the right moment, and Logan took the bolt instead of Lance.

His body was smoking and he still had the spike going through him. "That's it, fight against each other for me."

Scott's optic blast hit him in the shoulder as he was laughing, and he fell to the ground.

"Way to go Scott!" Spike yelled coming forward a bit.

Lance suddenly began to laugh as he stood back up. The clothes that covered his shoulder were singed a bit, and torn now, but the skin beneath showed no damage. "It'll take more than that." He said raising his hands towards Scott. At first nothing happened, but suddenly Lance's visor shattered, a blast came out before he could close his eyes, and struck James in the back knocking him forward.

James turned around and smirked. "Fenris! Seth! Hope you don't mind, but this idiot's gone and played dirty!" James said as he walked forward towards Lance.

Lance smirked as he aimed his hands towards the earth.

"No you don't." James cut him off. Lance suddenly found himself off the ground with his hands above raised above his head in James' tight grasp. His left hand held Lance about a foot off the ground. James was huge, and very intimidating. He raised his right fist to deliver some damage, when Kitty's voice stopped him.

"Don't hurt him!" Kitty yelled.

James looked over his shoulder.

That was all Lance needed apparently, James suddenly found Lance's foot on his chest, and Lance flipped over, kicking James back a few feet, but not to the ground.

James smirked. "Lance isn't that strong."

"Do you think I would take a body without giving it what I need?" Lance asked with a rather evil smirk on his face.

Fenris and Seth were now back on the scene, neither were in human form. Fenris was huge, six and a half feet, black fur covered his body, a wolf's head sat on his large shoulders instead of a human one, claws replaces his hands and paws replaces his feet, a snout with fangs, and a dog's tail. He stood on all fours with teeth bared towards Lance.

Seth looked exactly the same, only his body was covered in white fur, and his teeth were not bared, in fact he didn't even look vicious to be honest.

Jean was the first to speak. "Enough of this!" She raised her hand towards Lance, to lift him off the ground, but nothing happened, in fact, none of her powers were working at all.

Lance smirked. "What's wrong? Mind not working quite right?" He took several steps forward, locking eyes, if you could call those pupil-less white spheres 'eyes', with Jean. "You can't use your mind powers near me." He said in a soft and dark voice.

"Then let's get physical." Rebecca's foot suddenly found it's mark on the back of Lance. He was knocked forward a bit but hand flipped upwards.

"Nice cheap shot there." He said facing her. "Let's see who's faster." The two suddenly rushed forward at each other, both sending kicks and punches at each other, and both dodging at almost super human speed and with utmost agility. It was captivating to watch.

In fact all of them, James, Chris, John, Will, Fenris, Seth, Kitty, Logan (who was now almost fully recovered), Hank, Ororo, and Jean were all watching the fight. Scott was pulling out a pair of his extra glasses and finally could see again, just in time for Lance to land the first punch and send Rebecca flying upwards and backwards as if struck by a car.

"Rebecca!" James yelled as Chris swooped down and grabbed her just before she hit the ground. She must've gone twenty feet in the air.

"She's got at least one broken rib." Chris said looking up to James.

James' face fell, and he turned with such a look on his face that the Warrior's all took a step back.

Kurt suddenly bamfed back to the scene. "Vhat'd I miss?"

"Kurt, take Rebecca to the med lab." James said in a rather flat tone.

Kurt looked to Scott, who nodded again, and then he bamfed Rebecca inside.

"What are you going to do? You people can't even hurt me let alone defeat me. Let me face my sons, at least they'll offer a challenge, I hope." Lance said with a rather twisted smirk.

Fenris growled loudly but James held up a hand, and placed it on a rather large oak tree that laid up rooted from the wave of earth that Lance had used earlier. He picked it up with both hands and raised it above the ground. "Say your prayers." He swung it like a bat directly at Lance and struck something, with a rather loud cracking sound.

Dust flew everywhere and when it settled the tree lay split in two, and there stood Lance as if he had just punched something.

"How the?" Hank asked looking to Ororo.

Ororo's eyes glowed once more and fierce winds began to blow against Lance.

Lance looked to her and grimaced. "You're going to be annoying weather witch." He said above the winds. He lowered his hands and the earth shifted, creating a chasm underneath her, and making others move to the side a bit, but she just floated in the air as if nothing had happened.

"It'll take more than that." Ororo said as the wind's increased, the Warriors and X-Men grabbed onto things so as not to fly away. Lance smirked as he thrust backward his hands and his voice began to carry on the wind, suddenly the winds were tossed back at her in one single thrust and she was struck to the ground.

She didn't rise again. Hank was at her side in a second. "She's sweating." He said looking up.

"What did you do?" Logan asked yelling at Lance.

"What's the matter? The weather witch can't handle a little taste of poisonous wind?" Lance asked with a smirk.

"Do you ever run out of powers?" Spike yelled.

Lance turned and looked at him with a glare. "What do you think I am? A mutant? You are only a little better than humans. What you're dealing with here is something much, much stronger. These are not my powers boy, these are my spells."

"Magic?" Scott asked sounding confused.

"Do not put me on the same level as card tricks fool. This is pure, and complete, sorcery. Now, prepare to join your friends." Lance said taking a few steps towards Kitty.

Kitty wasn't sure of what to do, she didn't want to hurt Lance, she didn't think she even could if she wanted to...

"How can we defeat him?" Scott looked over to Fenris.

"Time to get organized." James said. "John, keep him away from us for a while!"

John suddenly jumped forward, between Lance and Kitty.

"What do you think you can-." Lance was cut off as John's hands sent forth such a blast that he was literally tossed into the air, about fifty feet or so up and back.

"Lance!" Kitty yelled.

"Kitty get inside!" James yelled. Kitty looked to him. "NOW!" He yelled and gave her such a look that if she didn't obey him out of duty she did it out of fear.

"Fenris, Seth, Hank, Logan, and I will take the front line. Jean, get Ororo into the med lab downstairs. Scott, stay back, and hit him at range. Spike, you too. Chris you stay up and give us what we need. Will, go find Joe. John, you keep him at bay for a while." James said as everyone began following his orders.

Lance got back up on his feet after a few seconds and sent a few shockwaves of earth towards them, creating walls of dirt that went waving towards them.

John kept his hands forward, sending out fields, not a tremor passed him, all the walls of dirt got knocked backwards, exploding into the following waves.

"How long can he keep that up?" Spike asked looking to Scott.

"Not long." Scott said as he and Spike ran back a bit, getting higher than the rest of them, except for Chris who was flying.

It was funny to see the front line, Hank, Fenris, Seth, James, and Logan were in front, and James and Logan were the only ones standing on two feet. Fenris, Seth, and Hank were on all fours.

John was in front of them, keeping up the shields. Jean and Will got Ororo into the building, and Kurt suddenly teleported back into the field, next to Scott and Spike.

"Vhat's going on?" Kurt asked looking to Scott.

"We're getting beat." Spike answered.

"We're doing fine." Scott answered. "They're going to engage him, we're going to cover them, I want you to bamf in there when you see your chance, and take his necklace."

"His necklace?" Kurt asked.

"Yeah." Scott said with a nod. "Bring it to me."

"Okay..." Kurt said hesitating a bit as he looked to watch what would happen.

"How come John can use his powers when Jean couldn't?" Spike asked looking to Scott.

"His aren't Psychic. Will and John have powers based on warping the space around their bodies, they're not telekinetic at all." Scott answered.

"How do you know that?" Kurt asked with a brow raised.

"Professor told me." Scott said with a nod.

"I can't hold this much longer!" The waves of earth were getting more numerous and more vicious, each time John sent a field at them it had less and less effect, and he was getting tired.

"Chris! Get John out of there!" James yelled as he waved his hand. "When the final shield goes out we rush forward, Beast, Fenris, Seth, you guys leap and avoid, Logan, stay behind me, I'll clear a path."

Chris swooped down and picked John up, gaining air again as James, Logan, Beast, Fenris, and Seth rushed forward. The waves of earth increased and then suddenly stopped. Juts of earth came out of the ground, creating almost a fence around Lance. Henry, Seth, and Fenris leaped over it. James punched through it, it was only dirt, and Logan ran in behind him.

They stopped as they got into the circle of earth. Suddenly an optic blast sounded over heard and knocked Lance into the hole with them. James gave him a good punch in the chest slamming him back and through the walls. Fenris was next at him, and his claws sank into his chest, swiping away most of his shirt and cutting him. Hank kicked him and knocked him back even more, towards the mansion. Seth shoulder tackled him from behind sending him flying towards Logan who close-lined him and sent him to the ground.

"Yeah!" Spike shouted.

Lance was suddenly back on his feet, and picking Logan up by the neck sent him hurling into James, who caught him as best he could and set him back on his feet. The wound on his chest was healed and a smirk was on his face.

He set his hands downward and the earth beneath him rose so quickly that he used it to propel him over the heads of James, Fenris, Logan and Hank.

"Now!" Scott said to Kurt as he sent a blast at Lance while he was in the air, knocking him away from the others and to the ground.

Kurt suddenly appeared in a cloud beside him and grabbed for his necklace. The noise that came from Lance upon seeing Kurt was horrible. It was the most horrid shriek you had ever heard. And Kurt hadn't even touched him.

Lance scrambled to get away from him, but Kurt teleported in front of him again. The noise sounded as one tormented as he turned around again. Kurt teleported again, but this time he teleported onto Lance's back, grabbed the necklace, ripped it off, and then jumped off, and teleported back to Scott.

Lance's eyes turned to Scott as he held the necklace aloft. "Hey Leif!" Scott shouted, holding the pendant of the necklace in his left hand. "We win." He smashed it with his right fist.

Such a terrible shriek was never before heard by any one of that group, nothing really seemed to happen other than that, and Lance's body fell to the ground.

"Did it work?" Spike asked looking over to Scott.

Scott paused for a moment. "I don't know." He said honestly. He looked down at his hand, shards of the crystal pendant were in his knuckles, he was bleeding, but he needed to make sure that it was over.

James picked Lance up and opened his eyes. He had pupils, it looked like everything was normal, he was breathing, he had a pulse, all was normal, he was just asleep. "We're good!" James said standing up and coming back towards them.

Chris landed as Will and Joe came running out. Fenris and Seth returned to their normal forms, minus their now shredded shirts, James, Logan, and Hank, came walking up, and Scott, Kurt, and Spike joined them as well. James was carrying Lance.

"Anybody know why he freaked like that when he saw Kurt?" Spike asked confused.

"Forgive me friend, but if there is one thing my father fears, it's his demons." Fenris said looking to Kurt with an apologetic look.

"He thought I was a demon?" Kurt asked, confused more than hurt.

"He did. He'll know better next time." Seth answered.

"We have to be prepared." Scott said with a strong nod. "Let's get inside."

**VVVV**

"Scott, you're bleeding!" Jean rushed up to them as they came in the door to the room several floors below the ground level.

"I take it we passed the test?" The professor asked looking to Chris.

"With flying colors in his mind." Chris answered. "He'll be looking forward to facing Kurt again. We'll have to be careful, he'll be wanting revenge for being made a fool of in his moment of weakness."

"You'll have to tell me the full story of what happened later." The professor said with a nod. "But for now we need to get the students out of here. Including the Warriors."

"Hell no." Will said speaking up. "This ain't just for the adults."

"William I don't think-." The Professor started but William cut him off.

"Professor, with all due respect, you need every able body you can get. I can understand why you don't endanger your own students, but we are not your students, we're doing this of our own free will." Will said politely. "There's strength in numbers, and us Warriors know our stuff a bit better than your X-Men. No offense."

"What do you mean by that?" Xavier asked raising a brow.

"No offense to anyone here. But you guys train your powers and bodies in order to help others. And that's great, really it is, but we Warriors are a bit different. We've used our minds, powers, and bodies, ever single day of our lives, for survival and to protect others." Will said. "Half the time we don't even need to use our powers to fight, Kitty would probably freeze if a gun was pointed at her, I doubt if she'd remember that she could phase and avoid death. As much training as your kids have, there's no replacing life experience sir, and that's what we Warriors have."

"That's enough Will." James said stepping forward.

"No James." The professor paused. "He's right. They do know what they're doing, and so do you." Xavier paused for a moment longer. "All right, we do need all we can get, but only the X-Men and the Warriors will be staying here. I want the other students removed to a safe place."

"Hey." John said speaking up. "Has anyone seen Ares, Nathan, or Mike?"

"I'm right here." Mike's voice spoke up from the group of new students in the room.

"So am I." Nathan said standing up from his seat on the floor.

"Where were you two during the fight?" Chris asked with a brow raised.

"Right here." Nathan answered. "It's not like we could've been much use."

"I'm never any good in battle." Mike said shaking his head.

"And unless you wanted to use Lethal force in a completely inhuman way I wouldn't have been able to contribute much." Nathan added.

"And vhere's Rogue?" Kurt asked confused.

"Ah'm here." She waved from across the room. "Professor wouldn't let me go."

"I think that it's too dangerous for non-fighters to be fighting with this man." The professor said. "Nathan, Michael, and Rogue will be accompanying the children. Joe, it's up to you what you want to do."

"Nathan." James said looking over to him. "Worse comes to worse I want you to protect those kids. They're just kids."

"I'll make sure they're safe, without doing it front of them if possible." Nathan said with a nod.

Kitty gulped a bit. "Is Lance okay?"

"He's sleeping." James answered. "You got a place I can lay him?"

"We had a few medical tables together in case." The professor said gesturing to some beds set up against the far wall.

James laid him down on the bed, and then went to Rebecca's side. Spike went to Ororo's, and Kitty and Chris stayed by Lance.

Hank came up to Ororo and placed a hand on her forehead. "Do we know what poison she was hit with?"

"Seth is already working on it." Fenris answered appearing out of seemingly nowhere. "He's good with herbs and plants."

"Will it work?" Hank asked raising a brow.

"It did last time." Fenris answered.

"This whole thing seems out of proportion." Logan said. "Why is this all happening?"

"Leif is trying to draw out people like myself and yourself." Chris answered. "Immortals."

"Immortal?" Kitty asked looking to Chris.

"You have memories from World War Two, do you not Logan?" Chris asked looking to him with a raised brow.

"How do you know that?" Logan asked raising a brow.

"And I am far older than that." Chris said with a sigh.

"How old are you?" Kitty asked, eyes getting wider all the time.

"More than eight-hundred." Chris answered.

"You jerk." Will slapped him on the back. "You coulda told us instead of hiding it and telling us lies."

"Couldn't be helped." Chris answered with a shrug.

"Here's the antidote... I hope." Seth said as he came into the room with a rather small vial in his hand. "It took a bit of research, but I think I found it."

Hank took it from him. "You're sure it'll help and not kill her?"

"Well I had to substitute a few roots, so it won't work as quickly, but it should work." Seth answered with a nod.

"Should or will?" Hank asked raising a brow.

"Will. Or you could wait another twenty minutes to give it to her and she can die." Seth retorted. "If it doesn't work it'll at least slow the poison long enough to work up a different antidote."

Hank looked to the professor who nodded, and he opened the vial pouring it into Ororo's mouth and then rubbing her throat in a few short and smooth motions.

"It'll make her sleep for about half an hour, when she wakes up she'll have a headache, and she'll be a little tired, but she should be okay." Seth said looking to him with a slight smile. "Anyone else get hurt?"

"Rebecca, but she has a few broken ribs, Hank will set those when he gets the time." James said looking over to Hank who nodded. "And Scott's hand is still bleeding."

"Let's get that bandaged up." Seth said coming over to Scott.

Scott looked to the professor who nodded. "Don't worry Scott, Seth has studied medicine probably as much as Hank here. Though medicine of a different style."

"Less science, better work." Seth said with a slight smile.

"So what's going to happen next?" The professor asked looking over to Chris.

"We should split into two groups. Rebecca, Grace, Elise, Megan, Danielle, Rogue, Ororo, yourself, Michael, and your younger students should take cover somewhere safe. You'll be the last line of defense for the younger students if we fail." Chris answered. "Logan, Hank, Nathan, James, Seth, Fenris, Scott, Spike, John, Will, Kurt, myself, Joe, Kitty, and Jean will do the fighting in two teams when the time comes. X-Men in one team, Warriors in the other. Logan, you lead X-Men. James you lead Warriors."

"Okay." James said with a nod. "Joe, and Nathan, you two are my aces. You stay up the sleeve until needed."

"You want me to use my powers?" Nathan asked raising a pierced brow.

"No." The professor interjected.

"Only if we need to." James answered.

"I can't allow that." The professor argued.

"Professor with all due respect, if it comes down to killing one evil man or having everyone in this room die, I'm killing one man." James argued.

"You might not have a problem with these barbaric tactics, but I do." The professor said strongly. "We are above that."

James sighed. He didn't feel like starting a fight with his own allies at this point. "We'll see what happens when the time comes."

"In that case I want Nathan to stay with myself and the others." Xavier said looking up to James.

"Take away the temptation eh?" James asked with a smirk. "Fine. But Professor, if it comes to it, you better pray that I can kill him."

"There will be no killing!" The professor raised his voice ever so slightly.

"Stop it both of you. Leif won't fight us again. He'll send his allies to do it for him and aid them from afar. That's his style. IF we defeat them, we can argue about what to do with him." Chris interjected.

"If?" James asked looking to Chris. "Who exactly are we fighting?"

"I have no idea." Chris said shaking his head. "We'll see when we fight them."

"Great." Logan snorted. "In the meanwhile everyone just relax a bit and let's start moving out of here."

"He won't make a move until at least tomorrow." Fenris said. "He's been weakened from being extracted from Lance's body so rudely." He turned to Scott. "Nice job."

"Thanks." Scott said slightly confused.

"We should relax for tonight, and move out early tomorrow morning. Everyone relax, and go about life as normal for tonight. We'll see what comes with the dawn." Fenris said looking to the professor. "Is that okay with you?"

The professor nodded.

The students went back upstairs to start packing up their things, and Nathan went into the living room and turned on the TV. Logan and the Professor joined him as did Seth and Fenris. The attitudes of everyone were a bit tense. He flipped through a few music channels and then he stopped when he hit the news.

"Weird if you ask me." The news reporter finished up a report. "In other news skater tony-." The news report was cut short as Nathan flipped the channel again.

The professor left, and so did Seth and Fenris, but Logan stayed behind. "You wouldn't have used your powers on that Leif guy anyway. Wouldya?" Logan asked looking down to Nathan who was sitting on the couch.

"Of course I would." Nathan answered. "If it meant all of their lives, or his, I would kill him in a heartbeat, I would only regret one thing."

"What's that?" Logan asked.

"Taking the pleasure from Fenris." Nathan answered.


End file.
